Neeraj Chopra scripts history yet again; Wins India’s first-ever gold at World Athletics Championships
Neeraj Chopra, with a 88.17m throw, bags India's first track and field gold medal in the competition.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra scripted history yet again. Launching the javelin to 88.17m at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Neeraj Chopra became India’s first-ever World Athletics Championships gold medallist.
In the early hours of August 28, Neeraj’s extraordinary feat took place as he faced off against contenders from across the globe. Demonstrating remarkable skill, he achieved a wonderful javelin throw spanning 88.17 meters on his second try, reaffirming his supremacy during the competition.
This exceptional display not only garnered Neeraj the coveted gold medal but also positioned him as a pioneering figure for Indian sports on an international level.
Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan, followed closely behind Neeraj and won a silver medal. Nadeem threw the javelin to a distance of 87.82 meters. Jakub Vadlejch from the Czech Republic claimed the third place by demonstrating his skill with a top throw of 86.67 meters.
With this win, India now has medals of all colours at the competition with a gold and silver belonging to Neeraj and bronze for Anju Bobby George, who had finished third in women’s long jump in the 2003 World Championships.
Neeraj Chopra became the third javelin thrower in the history
The 25-year-old Neeraj now has gold medals in the Olympics (Tokyo in 2021), Asian Games (2018), Commonwealth Games (2018), and U-20 World Championships (2016), besides the Diamond League title last year. Neeraj also joined the ranks of Abhinav Bindra as the second Indian to concurrently hold both an Olympic gold and a World Championships title. Bindra achieved this feat by winning the World Championships title at 23 and the Olympic gold at 25. Additionally, Neeraj became the third javelin thrower in the history of the discipline to accomplish this milestone, following Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic and Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.
Neeraj’s gold medal accomplishes more than just a remarkable feat in his journey; it also enhances India’s medal count at the World Athletics Championships. This triumph signifies his second award in the Championships, following his earlier attainment of a silver medal.
In another first, three Indians finished in the top eight with Kishore Jena (84.77m) and DP Manu (84.14m) taking the fifth and sixth spots. Never before did three Indians finish in the top eight of an event in the World Championships.
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