History was scripted at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 when Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in the Javelin throw event. Neeraj became the first-ever Indian to win an individual gold medal in Olympics at an athletics event like javelin throw. Neeraj began with a blow in the final and stayed at the top spot right from the first throw of the Olympic event, as World number one Johannes Vetter crashed out in the first round. Chopra finished on top with a throw that went 87.58m, and Czech Republic’s Vadlejch with 86.67m and Vítězslav Veselý with 85.44m won silver and bronze respectively.
With the gold medal, India broke its previous best and now has 7 medals in their tally with four bronze medals, two silver, and one gold. But the latest gold medal is not the only grand achievement of Neeraj Chopra, and he has achieved many great feats in his career. We have listed some of the most marvelous performances by Neeraj Chopra in his field, and they are given below.
Some incredible achievements of Neeraj Chopra:
- Record-breaking performances on the national level:
In the opening of Neeraj’s career, he would barely throw at a maximum of 55 meters. But he soon increased his range and won the 2012 Junior Nationals in Lucknow by obtaining a new national record throw of 68.40m. Later in the 2014 Senior Nationals, he achieved his first throw of over 70 meters at 2014 Senior Nationals. At the 2015 All India Inter-University Athletics Meet, Neeraj also created a world record in the junior category of 81.04 meters. And over the years, he broke many other national records as well.
- Connection to the Indian Army:
Neeraj Chopra was appointed as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian Army in 2016. And he had the rank of Naib Subedar.
- Golden victories of Asian Games:
In the 2016 South Asian Games, Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal with a throw of 84.23m. The ace javelin thrower also won another gold in the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships with a throw of 85.23 meters. In August 2018, when Neeraj Chopra made his appearance in the Asian Games he created a new Indian national record with a distance of 88.06 meters and also won the gold medal in Men’s javelin throw event.
- First Indian Javelin thrower to win Commonwealth:
In the men’s javelin throw at Commonwealth Games 2018, he registered a season-effort of 86.47 meters and won a gold medal. With this, he became the first Indian Javelin thrower from India to win a gold medal in the javelin event. Niraj also made his mark on the elite list of Indian athletes to win gold medals on their Commonwealth Games debut.
- International dominance in Javelin events:
Neeraj Chopra won his first international medal in 2014, at the World Youth Championship in Ukraine. In the IAAF World under-20 Championships in Poland, Neeraj created a world junior record in 2016, and also won a gold medal. In 2021, he began his international season with a gold medal at a javelin throw event in Lisbon, Portugal, with a throw of 83.18 meters. Later in the ACNW League Meeting in South Africa, he had a dazzling throw of 87.86m, and this event also qualified him for Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The whole nation has witnessed the magnificent victory of Neeraj Chopra in Tokyo. He has made billions of people proud and happy, but very few people know that the time before Olympics wasn’t so great for him. And just before the Tokyo Olympics Neeraj underwent surgery due to an elbow injury, and it happened the day after the qualifying competitions for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics had begun. But with 16 months of recuperation, including practicing meditation, rehabilitative training, and intense determination, he anyhow recovered. Later Neeraj traveled to South Africa for training, under German biomechanics expert Klaus Bartoneitz. And all his hard work, persistence, talents, and enthusiasm worked out for him when took that gold in the Olympics.
Presently, the entire nation is praising him and numerous people are honoring him with what he deserves. Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar has announced to give him a cash reward of Rs 6 crore, a Class-I job, and a piece of a plot of land at concessional rates. Even BCCI and IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings have individually announced Rs 1 crore award for Neeraj. Business tycoon and sports lover Anand Mahindra has also honored Neeraj by declaring to grant him a brand new XUV 700.
Similarly, Indigo Airlines have announced unlimited free travel for one year for gold medalist Neeraj Chopra. There are many other honors that are coming on Neeraj Chopra's way, and he deserves them all to make India proud on a global platform. The whole nation is saluting him for his great accomplishments. And now Neeraj Chopra has become a young face of hopes for the upcoming generation to play sports and fulfill their goals on the global level.
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Reference:
- www.olympics.com
- www.wikipedia.org