Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian athlete to ever win a gold medal in the Olympics. He ended India’s 100-year wait for an Olympic track and field medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Neeraj Chopra has now been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award. He is the third Indian to be nominated for the award after Sachin Tendulkar and Vinesh Phogat.
Neeraj Chopra said about his nomination: “I’m delighted to be nominated for this Laureus Award and it’s a great honour for me to be recognised in the wider sporting world for what I achieved in Tokyo. From being a kid in a small village in rural India who only took up sport to get fit, to standing on top of an Olympic podium, it’s been quite an eventful journey so far.”
“I feel privileged to be able to represent my country and win India medals at the global stage, and now to have this recognition from Laureus and be considered alongside such exceptional athletes is a really special feeling.”
Neeraj Chopra has been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award; Check out the full list of nominees here
Laureus Sports Awards 2022: Full list of nominees
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award
- Tom Brady (USA) – American Football
- Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – Tennis
- Caeleb Dressel (USA) – Swimming
- Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) – Athletics
- Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – Football
- Max Verstappen (Netherlands) – Formula 1
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award
- Ashleigh Barty (Australia) – Tennis
- Allyson Felix (USA) – Athletics
- Katie Ledecky (USA) – Swimming
- Emma McKeon (Australia) – Swimming
- Alexia Putellas (Spain) – Football
- Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica) – Athletics
Laureus World Team of the Year Award
- Argentina Men’s Football Team
- Barcelona Women’s Football Team (Spain)
- Italy Men’s Football Team
- Milwaukee Bucks (USA) – Basketball
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award
- Neeraj Chopra (India) – Athletics
- Daniil Medvedev (Russia) – Tennis
- Pedri (Spain) – Football
- Emma Raducanu (UK) – Tennis
- Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela) – Athletics
- Ariarne Titmus (Australia) – Swimming
Laureus World Comeback of the Year award
- Simone Biles (USA) – Gymnastics
- Sky Brown (UK) – Skateboarding
- Mark Cavendish (UK) – Cycling
- Tom Daley (UK) – Diving
- Marc Márquez (Spain) – Moto GP
- Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) – Cycling
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award
- Diede De Groot (Netherlands) – Wheelchair Tennis
- Marcel Hug (Switz) – Wheelchair Athletics
- Shingo Kunieda (Japan) – Wheelchair Tennis
- Jetze Plat (Netherlands) – Para Cycling / Para Triathlon
- Susana Rodríguez (Spain) – Para Triathlon
- Sarah Storey (UK) – Para Cycling
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award
- Ítalo Ferreira (Brazil) – Surfing
- Alberto Ginés (Spain) – Climbing
- Yuto Horigome (Japan) – Skateboarding
- Carissa Moore (USA) – Surfing
- Momiji Nishiya (Japan) – Skateboarding
- Bethany Shriever (UK) – BMX
LAUREUS Sport for Good Award
- Ich Wil Da Rauf! (Germany) Climbing
- Juca pe Cagna (Italy) – Multi-sport
- Kick 4 Life (Lesotho) – Football
- Lost Boyz Inc (USA) – Baseball
- Monkey Magic (Japan) – Climbing
A panel of over 1300 sports journalists from all over the world selected the nominees in the seven categories. The winners of each of the seven categories will be announced in April 2022 after a vote in the Laureus World Sports Academy.
Read: National Sports Awards: Neeraj Chopra, Ravi Dahiya, Sunil Chhetri and Shikhar Dhawan get awards
