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Neeraj Chopra: The first Indian to win a gold medal in Tokyo Olympics

IndiaNeeraj Chopra: The first Indian to win a gold medal in Tokyo Olympics

Tokyo Olympics 2020 Highlights, Day 15, Neeraj Chopra created history by becoming the second Indian to win a gold medal in the Olympics.

India achieved their best-ever medal booty when Neeraj Chopra made history by becoming the second Indian to win a gold medal in the first position at Tokyo 2020 with a throw of 87.58 metres in the javelin competition.

The Haryana native gave an amazing first throw (87.03) itself. He then gave a throw of 87.58m in his second attempt, followed by 76.79. His fourth and fifth attempts fell down while he ended the final with a stunning throw of 84.24m.

Germany’s spirited Johannes Vetter with an edge to win gold was thrown out of contention after his three throws weren’t enough to find him a place in the top eight.

The other athletes to finish in the top-eight of the javelin throw final were Julian Weber (Germany), Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan), Aliaksei Katkavets (Belarus), Andrian Mardare (Republic of Moldova) and Lassi Etelatalo (Finland).

Earlier, in wrestling Bajrang Punia on Saturday added to the list of medals by winning the bronze medal in men’s freestyle 65kg, beating Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan 8-0 on points for his first medal at the Olympics.

Aditi Ashok came quite close to a historic Olympic medal at the Tokyo 2020 in women’s individual strokeplay (golf), finishing fourth. Aditi finished 15 under and needed a birdie in the 72nd hole to force bronze medal playoff with Lydia Ko, but that was not to be as, Ko got a par score on the 18th, forcing a silver medal playoff herself with Japan’s Inami Mone.

Neeraj Chopra helped India win its second gold medal at the Olympics. Shooter Abhinav Bindra had won the country’s first Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Neeraj’s achievement also takes India’s Tokyo Games medal tally to seven; the country’s highest-ever, edging past the six won at the 2012 London Games so naturally, the country is elated.

About Neeraj Chopra

Subedar Neeraj Chopra VSM (born 24 December 1997)[5] is an Indian javelin thrower and Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army. As of 7 August 2021, he has collected six gold medals in major tournaments across the world. He is the reigning Olympic Champion and the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics.

In the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships, Chopra set the world under-20 record of 86.48 m. He is the first Indian athlete to ever win a World title in Track and Field at U-20.Chopra was also selected as the flag-bearer at the opening ceremony for India at the 2018 Asian Games, which marked his first Asian Games appearance.  He scored a gold-medal winning throw (88.06m) at the 2018 Asian Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games. Chopra won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics with a throw of 87.58m. He is one of the only two Indians to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics.

Neeraj Chopra is from Khandra village, Panipat district, Haryana. He was educated at DAV College, Chandigarh. As an early teen, Chopra was energetic and playful, with a streak of mischievousness, and his father in order to divert his energies persuaded him to grow out of it by having him take up running instead. His uncle took him to the nearby Shivaji Stadium at Panchkula and introduced him to the sport of javelin throw.

He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts from Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab.

 

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