Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra became the second individual Indian athlete after Abhinav Bindra to bag a gold at the Olympics. Neeraj’s gold medal is also India’s first Olympic gold medal and the third medal in track-and-field events. The first two medals in the track and field event were bagged in the 1900 Paris Olympics by a British national Norman Pritchard. India has so far won seven medals at Tokyo 2020. India had won six medals at London
Neeraj Chopra threw 87.58m to win the Olympic gold. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch won silver and fellow Czech Vitezslav Vesely won bronze.
Neeraj Chopra’s first attempt was 87.03m at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, the best of anyone after their first attempts. In the second attempt he threw 87.58m and in the third attempt a poor 76.79m.
The event also threw a big upset when the German world No. 1 and world champion Johannes Vetter finished ninth.
Subedar Neeraj Chopra, from the Southern Command, trained at the Army Sports Institute Pune. He hails from a farming family of Khandra village, Panipat district, Haryana. He was enrolled as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the rank of Naib Subedar in the Indian Army on 26 August 2016. Neeraj was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2018 and the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021 for his meritorious service. Lt Gen JS Nain Army Commander, Southern Command complimented the athlete on his historic performance.
The men’s javelin was the last event for the Indian contingent at the Summer Games.
