Abhinav Bindra, India’s first individual Olympic gold medalist, congratulated javelin star Neeraj Chopra on his gold medal performance in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Saturday.
Neeraj Chopra joined Abhinav Bindra on the elite two-man list after winning the men’s javelin throw final with a best attempt of 87.58m in his second throw, which was good enough to win.
Abhinav Bindra, the first Indian to win an individual Olympic medal, congratulated Neeraj on social media and welcomed him to the elite club.
“And Gold it is for @Neeraj_chopra1. Take a bow, young man ! You have fulfilled a nation’s dream. Thank you! Also, welcome to the club – a much needed addition! Extremely proud. I am so delighted for you,” Bindra tweeted.
Neeraj Chopra threw the javelin 87.03 metres on his first throw and improved to 87.58 metres on his second throw, but he couldn’t go any higher. Chopra threw 87.03 metres, 87.58 metres, 76.79 metres, and 84.24 metres, but his fourth and fifth throws were dismissed.
But his second throw was far superior to the others, securing the gold for India.
Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal is India’s second in the individual category, following Abhinav Bindra’s win in the 19m Air Rifle shooting event in China.
Neeraj dominated the javelin final, exactly as he did in the qualification round, when he threw the javelin 86.65m on his first throw to qualify for the final.
A nation of a billion or more people waited with bated breath for a historic medal, knowing it was well within reach — an unprecedented sense in track and field events at the Tokyo Olympics.
Expectations have risen to new heights thanks to Neeraj’s actions. Neeraj is among the favourites due to the absence of Poland’s Marcin Krukowski, the defending world champion Keshorn Walcott, and Rio Olympics silver winner Julius Yego.
On Saturday, Neeraj Chopra made history by becoming India’s first ever Olympic track and field gold medalist. In Tokyo, the 23-year-old from Haryana threw his javelin 87.58 metres, comfortably outdoing the competition. Before Neeraj, only Milkha Singh had come near to winning a track and field Olympic medal for independent India in 1960. Milkha, considered India’s finest track and field athlete, died two months ago. Jeev Milkha Singh, his son and a well-known golfer, sent out an emotional tweet praising Neeraj for realising Milkha’s longtime desire.
Neeraj dedicated it to him and PT Usha, India’s other great track & field athlete. “Milkha Singh wished for some Indian athlete to win a gold medal in the Olympics. This medal is dedicated to him and PT Usha “Minutes after his historic victory, Neeraj spoke to the media.
