Tokyo : Neeraj Chopra on Saturday became only the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics, out-performing the field by quite a distance to notch up the first track-and-field Games medal for the country. The 23-year-old farmer’s son from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana produced the second throw of 87.58m in the finals to stun the athletics world and end India’s 100-year wait for a track and field medal in the Olympics. Chopra won the country’s seventh medal and first gold in this Olympics and joined shooter Abhinav Bindra (2008 Beijing Games) as India’s individual gold winners in the showpiece. With this, the country surpassed the previous best haul of six medals achieved in the 2012 London Games. Neeraj Chopra will be taking the flag for India at the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony.
Neeraj Chopra had come into the final as one of the favourites to win a medal after topping the charts in qualification.
Chopra started off with a throw of 87.03, taking the lead after the first round of throws itself. If that was a good start, he went even better with his second attempt, registering a throw of 87.58.
His third throw was 76.79.
In a major upset, Germany’s Johannes Vetter – who was favourite to win the gold – was knocked out of contention after he failed to be in the top 8 after three throws.
Neeraj Chopra’s fourth and fifth attempts were foul throws, but he continued to top the leaderboard
His last throw was a formality with all his competitors having already finished their attempts, and he recorded 84.24 with the attempt.
Czech javelin thrower Vadlejch had the second best throw of 86.67, while his compatriot Vesely clinched bronze with his attempt of 85.44m.
