Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra was honoured with the Best Male Athlete of the Year 2025 award at the inaugural Indian Athletics Awards ceremony on Saturday.
The star javelin thrower said the recognition was particularly meaningful because it was presented in the presence of athletes from different generations.
"Yeh award dil ke nazdik hai. The old and new generation of athletes are here. I am very happy to have received the award in front of them," Chopra said after receiving the honour.
Chopra arrived from Doha earlier in the day after competing at the Doha Diamond League on Friday. In his season-opening event, the 28-year-old recorded a best throw of 85.69m in his third attempt to finish fourth.
The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and Paris Olympics silver medallist has been recovering from a back injury sustained before the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. The Doha meet marked his return to competition after finishing eighth at the World Championships.
He has been training in Switzerland since May 25, following a rehabilitation programme in Turkiye. His throw in Doha also comfortably surpassed the Athletics Federation of India's qualification standard of 82.61m 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.
Earlier in the ceremony, legendary sprinter and Indian Olympic Association president P T Usha received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Launched by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), the Indian Athletics Awards aim to recognise the contributions of athletes, coaches, technical officials, mentors, state associations, and other stakeholders to the development of athletics in the country.
The inaugural edition featured 10 award categories, including Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete, Best Coach, Best Technical Official, Best State Association, and Lifetime Achievement Award.