Neeraj Chopra marries Himani Mor (X/Neeraj Chopra)
Days after he said that it wasn’t necessary to make any public declarations before he decided to marry, India’s greatest living Olympian Neeraj Chopra announced his wedding to tennis player Himani Mor in an intimate ceremony.
In a short post on his social media pages, Neeraj shared pictures from the ceremony held in Himachal Pradesh on January 16. “Grateful for every blessing that brought us to this moment together. Bound by love, happily ever after,” Neeraj wrote.
Neeraj’s paternal uncle Bhim Chopra told The Indian Express that the marriage was arranged by both families. “The wedding took place on January 16 in Himachal Pradesh. Both the families were present during the wedding, which was arranged by the two families,” Bhim said.
जीवन के नए अध्याय की शुरुआत अपने परिवार के साथ की। 🙏
Grateful for every blessing that brought us to this moment together. Bound by love, happily ever after.
He added that Neeraj and Himani wanted to keep the details of the ceremony private. “It’s a new journey for Neeraj and Himani. We cannot share details of the ceremony since Neeraj and Himani’s families want it to be that way. Neeraj and Himani are currently out of the country. The whole Chopra family is delighted.”
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It is understood that even some of Neeraj’s fellow athletes got to know only through his social media posts. That’s how Neeraj wanted it, going by his recent comments on this matter.
In an interview with Lallantop News recently, Neeraj hinted at maintaining privacy after he was asked about his marriage plans. “Personal life is such a thing that it depends on an individual how much he wants to show the world,” the double Olympic and World Championship medallist said. “Shadi bhi honi ho toh zaroori thodi na hai ki sabhi ko batake honi hai (It’s not necessary to announce the marriage to the whole world). Whenever it has to happen, the family will decide. That’s when it’ll happen.”
Bhim said that the bride’s family hails from Sonipat, Haryana. In fact, Himani’s alma mater is the same as India’s top-ranked tennis player Sumit Nagal. Like Nagal, Himani, too, played tennis and, as per the All India Tennis Association website, her highest national ranking was 42 in singles and 27 in doubles.
After completing a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Physical Education, Himani moved to the USA where she studied at the Southeastern Louisiana University. Apart from working as a part-time volunteer assistant tennis coach at Franklin Pierce University, Himani — a graduate assistant at Amherst College — manages the women’s tennis programme at her college where, as per available information, she oversees training, scheduling, recruitment and budgets.
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For Neeraj, this is the off-season after a strenuous 2024 when he won his second Olympic medal while battling a long-standing injury. He was training in South Africa under his new coach, world record holder Jan Zelezny, for the new season and will have the World Championships as a major target.
Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships.
An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More