From husband and wife to business partners: How Neeraj Chopra and Himani Mor are building a sports business to create a lasting legacy

Neeraj Chopra and his wife Himani Mor (PTI Photo) Neeraj Chopra has spent years perfecting the art of throwing the javelin over 90 meters. Now India’s golden boy is pursuing a different kind of ambition – building a sports business that can survive his competitive career. And he does it alongside his wife, Himani Mor, who is not only his life partner, but also the executive director of his new venture, Vel Sports.Launched in January 2026, Vel Sports marked a major turnaround for the Olympic and world champion, who ended his 10-year association with JSW Sports to start his own athlete management firm. For Chopra, the move was about creating a trusted team that would allow him to focus on the competition while laying the foundation 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 experience as an athlete into a business philosophy: one that puts the needs of athletes before commercial demands.Together, Vel Sports and the Neeraj Chopra Foundation want to contribute to a stronger sports ecosystem in India and help athletes succeed on and off the field. Their partnership is built on a common understanding of top sport, but also on a clear distinction between their professional responsibility and personal relationship.

From a sports connection to marriage and business

Chopra and Mora’s story began long before they became one of India’s most famous sports couples.Both hail from Haryana – Chopra from Panipat and Mor from Sonipat – and their families have known each other for years. Their association dates back to 2016, before Chopra became an Olympic champion.“We have known each other since 2016, before he won the World Junior Championship,” Mor told The Indian Express, recalling their early association through the Sports Authority of India’s training center in Sonipat.Sport was a natural meeting place. 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 in the first Kabaddi World Cup in Pakistan in 1983.“There was a mutual interest. You talk to each other, you get to know each other, and that’s how our relationship started. Our families knew that. So we got married,” she said.Mor describes their marriage as a combination of arranged marriage and love marriage. They tied the knot in a private ceremony in Solano in January 2025.Their relationship subsequently evolved into a professional partnership, with Chopra launching Vel Sports in January 2026 and appointing Mora as CEO. He brought 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.

Neeraj Chopra and Himani Mor (photo by @Neeraj_chopra1 on X)

Why Neeraj Chopra wanted his own sports business

Chopra decided to set up Vel Sports after a decade with JSW Sports, which supported his rise from an up-and-coming javelin thrower to Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist, 2023 World Champion and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist.His departure from JSW Sports was described by both parties as a respectful end to a successful association. Chopra acknowledged the role the organization had played in his career, while the company expressed pride in their collective achievements.But the next phase of his journey required a different approach.“Another reason for starting Vel Sports is that Neeraj wanted his own trusted team to take care of everything. He wants to focus on sports,” explained Mor.Chopra remains an active athlete, but his ambitions extend beyond medals and records. He wants to create an organization that can continue to contribute to Indian sports even after his competitive career is over.“He may have six more years as an athlete. At this stage, throwing ninety meters is just a number. But he wants to create a legacy,” Mor told The Indian Express in an interview.“Now he’s looking at breaking records and not just winning gold. He wants the next generation to have the mindset that they can win at the highest levels of the sport and stay at the top.”This vision is fundamental to Vel Sports. Rather than treating athlete management simply as securing sponsorship and support, the company intends to build a system where commercial opportunities complement sporting ambitions.

The philosophy of Vel Sports is athletes first

For elite athletes, commercial commitments can be both an opportunity and a challenge. Brand campaigns, appearances and promotional duties can generate income and build a public profile, but must be balanced with training, recovery and competition schedules.Mor believes that the people managing these commitments need to understand what an athlete’s day-to-day life entails.“We want to keep the athletes and their priorities at the forefront,” she said.“We want to create an ecosystem that works around athletes’ schedules, allowing them to balance their training while maintaining their professional commitments. Being athletes ourselves, we understand what it takes to perform at the highest level and what approach is best for athletes. Because one missed workout can cost them a lot.”The aim is to ensure that athletes and brands benefit without compromising sporting performance.Expressing a similar sentiment, Chopra drew on the lessons of his own career. In the beginning, he said, he didn’t have enough knowledge about planning contests or working with brands. Vel Sports aims to help athletes navigate these areas with more support.This model is not entirely new on an international scale. Athletes like LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton and Coco Gauff have gone into business while continuing their sports careers. In India, Sunil Gavaskar co-founded the Professional Management Group during his playing days in the 1980s.Chopr’s move places him in 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 the Legacy of Indian Sports

The couple’s ambitions extend beyond sports representation. The Neeraj Chopra Foundation aims to support budding athletes and contribute to the wider Indian sports ecosystem.One initiative is the Indian School of Coaching Excellence, launched in collaboration with badminton coach Pullela Gopichand’s Badminton Gurukul and AISTS INDIA’s Badminton Gurukul in August 2026. It aims to improve coaching education through multidisciplinary programs involving 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 experienced coaches and effective support systems.The foundation has also joined the Indian Olympic Association in the 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 sports.For the pair, 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 champion development.