Chopra Wins India’s 1st Gold In Olympic Track And Field
Aug 7, 2021, 5:11 PM
Neeraj Chopra of Team India competes in the Men's Javelin Throw Final on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 07, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
TOKYO (AP) — Neeraj Chopra has won India’s first gold medal in Olympic track and field with a throw of 87.58 meters to clinch the javelin title at the Tokyo Games.
India’s only previous medals in Olympic track and field were two silvers won by Norman Pritchard in the 200 meters and the 200-meter hurdles at the 1900 Paris Games.
Chopra was the first athlete from India to win gold in javelin at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games and he has set a new benchmark in Tokyo.
#NeerajChopra has just won India's first ever (yes, ever, ever) Olympic gold medal in athletics! Here's a peak into how he got into sports, through the words of his mother and sister, who eagerly await his return, with a bowl of 'churma'. #IndiaTodayAtOlympics #NewsMo #Vertical pic.twitter.com/zdMQd0K3wO
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 7, 2021
He held off athletes from the Czech Republic to finish atop the podium.
Jakub Vadlejch took silver and former world champion Vitezslav Vesely was third.
[ss-signup design_id=”2205276″]
