India's Neeraj Chopra Wins Historic Gold Medal in Men's Javelin
The Tokyo Olympic Games has been a spectacular showcase of track and field talent across the world, with gold medal victories from Jamaica to Italy. On the night of javelin throw, India made its mark at the games with Neeraj Chopra securing India’s first Olympic Gold in Athletics.
Via REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Neeraj won the gold with an incredible throw of 87.58m.
He started the event blazing with two throws over 87 meters (87.03m and 87.58m). Subsequent throws were progressively lower. Nonetheless, his second throw was enough to make him the Olympic Champion.
Neeraj’s performance decimated a field of top contenders. No one in the field came close with his throws being the only ones over 87 meters. Vadlejch and Vesley of the Czech Republic placed second and third, respectively. He also beat out the world-leader, Johannes Vetter, from Germany who was a favorite to win. Vetter, who threw 96.29 meters in May 2021, finished 9th in the event.
Despite securing the gold, Neeraj’s throw was not even a personal best for him. His personal best of 88.07 meters thrown in March 2021 placed him at 4th in the world. At 23-years-old, Neeraj still has much to grow and many more medals to win.
Born in Panipat, India, Neeraj set out to the Olympics with hopes of winning gold, and he did not disappoint. He was first inspired to take up the sport after watching javelin throwers train in Haryana.
The journey to Tokyo did not come without difficulty. Like many track and field athletes, Chopra’s training was heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Chopra did not get to compete on the international stage for nearly 16 months. However, his dedication to his training and his talent carried him through.
He is the first athlete representing India to have won gold in javelin at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. His win in Tokyo gave India its second individual Olympic champion after Abhinav Bindra (2008, men’s air rifle 10m).
His win brought India’s medal count in Tokyo to 7: 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze. This is the country’s best ever medal tally at any Olympics.
