How Neeraj Chopra and wife Himani are building a sports business for a lasting legacy

Neeraj Chopra has spent years perfecting the art of throwing a javelin beyond 90 metres. Now, India's golden boy is pursuing a different kind of ambition — building a sports business that can outlast his competitive career.

And he is doing it alongside his wife, Himani Mor, who is not merely his life partner but the managing director of his new venture, Vel Sports.Launched in January 2026, Vel Sports marked a significant turning point for the Olympic and world champion, who ended his decade-long association with JSW Sports to establish his own athlete management firm. For Chopra, the move was about creating a trusted team that would allow him to concentrate on competition while laying the foundations for his legacy.

For Mor, a former international-level tennis player with an academic background in sports management, the appointment was an opportunity to turn her own experiences as an athlete into a business philosophy: one that puts athletes' needs before commercial demands.Together, they want Vel Sports and the Neeraj Chopra Foundation to contribute to a stronger sporting ecosystem in India, helping athletes succeed both on and off the field.

Their partnership is built around a shared understanding of elite sport, but also on a clear distinction between their professional responsibilities and personal relationship.

From a sporting connection to marriage and business

The story of Chopra and Mor began well before they became one of Indian sport's most recognisable couples.Both hail from Haryana — Chopra from Panipat and Mor from Sonipat — and their families had known each other for years. Their connection dates back to 2016, before Chopra became an Olympic champion.“We have known each other since 2016, before he won the junior World Championship,” Mor told The Indian Express, recalling their early association through the Sports Authority of India's training centre in Sonipat.Sport was a natural meeting point. Mor came from a family with a strong sporting background. Her cousins competed in wrestling and boxing, while her parents played kabaddi. Her father captained the Indian team at the first circle kabaddi World Cup in Pakistan in 1983.“There was a common interest. You talk to each other, get to know each other, and that's how our relationship started. Our families were aware. That's how we got married,” she said.Mor describes their marriage as a fusion of an arranged and a love marriage. They tied the knot in a private ceremony in Solan in January 2025.Their relationship subsequently evolved into a professional partnership, with Chopra launching Vel Sports in January 2026 and appointing Mor as managing director.

He brought the experience of competing at the highest level and navigating commercial partnerships, while she brought an athlete's perspective combined with formal training in sports management.

Why Neeraj Chopra wanted his own sports business

Chopra's decision to establish Vel Sports came after a decade with JSW Sports, which supported his rise from a promising javelin thrower to an Olympic gold medallist at Tokyo 2020, a world champion in 2023 and an Olympic silver medallist at Paris 2024.His departure from JSW Sports was described by both sides as a respectful conclusion to a successful association. Chopra acknowledged the role the organisation had played in his career, while the company expressed pride in their shared achievements.But the next phase of his journey demanded a different approach.“Another reason for starting Vel Sports is because Neeraj wanted his own trusted team to take care of everything.

He wants to focus on the sport,” Mor explained.Chopra remains an active athlete, but his ambitions extend beyond medals and records. He wants to create an organisation that can continue contributing to Indian sport after his competitive career ends.“He might have another six years as an athlete. At this stage, throwing ninety metres is just a number. But he wants to create a legacy,” Mor said, while speaking to The Indian Express.“He is now looking at breaking records and not just about winning a gold. He wants the next generation to have the mindset that they can win at the highest levels of sport and stay at the top.”That vision is central to Vel Sports. Rather than treating athlete management simply as a business of securing sponsorships and endorsements, the company intends to build a system in which commercial opportunities complement sporting ambitions.

The athlete-first philosophy behind Vel Sports

For elite athletes, commercial commitments can be both an opportunity and a challenge. Brand campaigns, appearances and promotional obligations can generate income and build a public profile, but they must be balanced against training, recovery and competition schedules.Mor believes the people managing those commitments need to understand what an athlete's daily life involves.“We want to keep athletes and their priorities at the forefront,” she said.“We want to create an ecosystem that works around athletes' schedules, allows them to balance their training while also maintaining their professional commitments. Being athletes ourselves, we understand what it takes to perform at the highest levels and what approach is best for an athlete. Because one missed session can cost them a lot.”The objective is to ensure that athletes and brands benefit without compromising sporting performance.Chopra has expressed a similar view, drawing on the lessons of his own career. At the beginning, he said, he did not have enough knowledge about competition planning or working with brands. Vel Sports is intended to help athletes navigate those areas with greater support.The model is not entirely new internationally. Athletes such as LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton and Coco Gauff have pursued business ventures while continuing their sporting careers. In India, Sunil Gavaskar co-founded Professional Management Group during his playing days in the 1980s.Chopra's move places him within that tradition, with the added ambition of building an athlete-focused business in a country where sporting careers can be shaped as much by access to resources and professional guidance as by talent.

Beyond Vel Sports: Building a legacy for Indian sport

The couple's ambitions extend beyond athlete representation. The Neeraj Chopra Foundation aims to support emerging athletes and contribute to India's wider sporting ecosystem.One initiative is the Indian School of Coaching Excellence, launched in collaboration with badminton coach Pullela Gopichand's Badminton Gurukul and AISTS INDIA in August 2026.

It aims to improve coach education through multidisciplinary programmes covering sports science, physical literacy, technology and athlete development.The underlying belief is that India's future sporting success depends not only on identifying talented athletes but also on giving them access to knowledgeable coaches and effective support systems.The foundation has also joined the Indian Olympic Association in a Clean Sport anti-doping awareness initiative. Chopra's experience as an athlete who has competed at the highest level gives him a platform to promote clean sport.For the couple, these projects represent different parts of the same vision: better management for established athletes, more support for emerging talent and stronger systems around the people responsible for developing champions.