New Delhi

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra was honoured with the Best Male Athlete of the Year 2025 award at the inaugural Indian Athletics Awards ceremony organised by the Athletics Federation of India on Saturday.

Receiving the award, Chopra said the recognition was especially meaningful as it came in the presence of athletes from different generations.

The star javelin thrower, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and followed it with a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, expressed happiness at being recognised before fellow athletes and veterans of the sport.

Chopra arrived in New Delhi after competing at the Doha Diamond League on Friday, where he finished fourth with a best throw of 85.69 metres in his season-opening event.

The 28-year-old has been making his return after recovering from a back injury sustained ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo in September 2025. His appearance in Doha marked his first major competition since finishing eighth at the World Championships.

He has been training in Switzerland since late May following a rehabilitation programme in Turkiye. Despite still working his way back to peak fitness, Chopra comfortably surpassed the Athletics Federation of India's qualification mark of 82.61 metres for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

The Best Female Athlete of the Year award was presented to Parul Chaudhary, the national record holder in the women's 3000m steeplechase.

Meanwhile, legendary sprinter and Indian Olympic Association president P T Usha received the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Indian athletics.

The Indian Athletics Awards were introduced by the AFI to honour athletes, coaches, technical officials, mentors, state associations and other stakeholders who have contributed to the development of the sport.

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The inaugural edition featured ten categories, including Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete, Best Coach, Best Technical Official, Best State Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award.