Sportstar Aces 2023, Popular Choice: Neeraj Chopra nominated for ‘Sportstar of the Year (Male)’ award

Over the course of the year, Chopra never finished outside the top two in any of the six competitions he took part in.

Neeraj Chopra competes at the Weltklasse IAAF Diamond League on September 8, 2022. | Photo Credit: JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT/AP/PTI

Neeraj Chopra has been nominated for the ‘Popular Choice - Sportstar of the Year (Male)’ award for the upcoming Aces Awards 2023.

A year after he won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, Chopra became the first Indian man to win a medal (silver) at the Athletics World Championships, in Oregon, USA. Over the course of the year, he never finished outside the top two in any of the six competitions he took part in.

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Chopra, who set a new national record of 89.94m at the Stockholm Diamond League, wrapped up his season with another gold medal – in the Diamond League final in Zurich.

In 2022:

• Won India’s first-ever silver medal at the World Athletics Championships (Oregon, US, July 2022).

• Won the Diamond League Trophy, after winning the Diamond League final, the first Indian to do so (in Zurich, Switzerland, September 2022).

• Won gold at the Athletissima Diamond League (Lausanne, August)

• Broke his own national record at the Stockholm Diamond League with 89.94m (Sweden, June).

• Finished the 2022 season as World No. 2

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ACES AWARDS 2023

There are 27 categories of awards this year – five Popular Choice and 22 Jury awards.

The five Popular Choice awards are Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, National Team of the Year, Club Team of the Year and Sporting Moment of the Year.

The Jury awards are Sportsman of the Year (Cricket, Racquet Sports, Individual Sports, Track and Field, Team Sports, Parasports), Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket, Racquet Sports, Individual Sports, Team Sports, Track and Field, Parasports), Coach of the Year, Best State for Promotion of Sports, Best Corporate for Promotion of Sports, Best PSU for Promotion of Sports, Best College/University for Promotion of Sports, Lifetime Achievement Award, Young Achiever of the Year (Boy), Young Achiever of the Year (Girl), Best Talent Mentor (Grassroots Coach).

A new award called the Spirit of Sport is also being introduced. It will look at rewarding deeds of great sportsmanship.

There will also be a separate Chairperson’s Award for Sports for the Social Good, which will honour individuals or organisations that have used the power of sports to make our world a better place.

The event is powered by IDFC First Bank and supported by Indian Oil, India Cements, United India, Ramaiah University, Experimenta Science Center GD Naidu Charity, Finolex Pipes, LIC, BPCL, Samsonite, Big Basket, Nippon Paint, CRICHQ, Casagrand and Wordswork.