Tokyo 2020: History Made! Neeraj Chopra Wins Gold Medal In Javelin Throw At Tokyo Olympics

Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra's 87.58 meters throw won him the gold medal! This is India's first medal in Track and Field event, ever!

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Tokyo: India's national record holder in Javelin Throw, Neeraj Chopra has secured a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Chopra's main competition was the German Johannes Vetter but he crashed out after just three throws. Chopra picks up India's first medal in Track and Field event, ever! This is India's first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. 

Chopra's first throw went for 87.03 meters, second for 87.58 meters while the third throw was 79.79 meters. His second throw of 87.58 meters was enough for India to secure a gold medal in Tokyo Olympics 2020.  Neeraj does the unthinkable at just 23 years of age. He is an outstanding find for India in athletics, What a PLAYER! 

NEERAJ CHOPRA WINS INDIA'S FIRST OLYMPIC GOLD IN ATHLETICS 🇮🇳🥇

August 7, 2021 - #Tokyo2020, one for the history books! 📚

#StrongerTogether | #UnitedByEmotion | #Olympics | #Athletics | @Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/7oFujZPOvW

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 7, 2021

With this, India has secured its sixth medal overall in this year's Olympic Games. It is the first Gold medal after the 2008 Beijing Olympics for India. Abhinav Bindra was the last person to win a gold medal for India. Chopra is just 23 years old and has already created history in a sport that is rarely talked about, in India. Even Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem played in the Javelin Throw final and performed well to secure 6th spot. 

A nation of approximately 1.5 billion people has won it's first track and field gold medal in Tokyo Olympics 2020. 

Take a look at this awesome 87.58-meter throw that won India its gold medal!

THE THROW THAT WON #IND A #GOLD MEDAL 😍#Tokyo2020 | #StrongerTogether | #UnitedByEmotion @Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/F6xr6yFe8J

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 7, 2021

The hype was real as Chopra had surpassed Germany's Johannes Vetter, the world no. 1 in the previous round. Neeraj boosted India's medal hopes by qualifying for the final with a throw of 86.65m in the first attempt of the qualification round itself. Shivpal Singh was another Indian athlete who was present in the qualification round. But unfortunately for India, he couldn't go over the line and qualify for the final. 

Neeraj had left behind Germany's Johannes Vetter, who is considered a strong contender for the gold medal. Johannes too, however, achieved automatic qualification with a throw of 85.64 metres. Neeraj started his season with a new national record of 88.07m at the Indian Grand Prix in March and followed it up with another commendable performance in the Federation Cup with a throw of 87.80m.