Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has created history by winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. He is the second player and the first athlete to win an individual gold medal for the country.
With this success of Neeraj, India will finish the Tokyo Olympics with 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze.
Neeraj secured the first position in his second attempt with a distance of 87.58 metres. Czech Republic’s Yakub Valdez finished second with 86.67m while his country’s Viteslav Veseli got the bronze with 85.44m.
Before Neeraj, Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics 13 years ago.
However, Abhinav won this gold in shooting. What Neeraj has done in Tokyo is historic as India had never won a medal in athletics events in the Olympics before.
Neeraj clocked 87.03 in his first attempt and reached the first position in the leaderboard.
In the second attempt, Neeraj threw 87.58 javelin and cemented himself on the leaderboard and in one sense assured a medal.
In the third attempt, however, he could measure only 76.79 meters. His fourth attempt was a foul. Neeraj’s fifth attempt was also a foul.
This is historical gold.
India had not won any medal in athletics before this but now when the medal comes, it goes straight to gold.
Neeraj was considered a strong contender for the medal even before the Olympics.
Neeraj is the second Indian to win an individual gold medal from India. Shooter Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the men’s 10m air rifle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
India participated in athletics for the first time in the Antwerp Olympics 2020 but since then till Rio 2016, none of its athletes had won a medal.
The veterans Milkha Singh and PT Usha had missed by a small margin in 1960 and 1984 respectively.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) still records Norman Pritchard’s medals won at the Paris Olympics 1900 in the 200m and 200m hurdles in India’s name but according to various researches and the International Federation of Athletics Federations (now World Athletics) they then Great Britain was represented.
Neeraj Chopra is a resident of Panipat, Haryana. Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete competing in the javelin throwe.
He is the second Indian after Anju Bobby George to win a gold medal in athletics at a World Championship level.
Neeraj won the gold medal at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships with a javelin throw of 85.23 metres. In the 2016 South Asian Games, he won the gold medal with a javelin throw of 82.23 meters, equaling the Indian national record.
Neeraj won the gold medal at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships with a javelin throw of 85.23 metres.
In the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia, he won the gold medal of the event by throwing 86.47 meters.
News Source: HindustanTimes
