Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra on Sunday scripted history yet again as he became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the World Athletics Championships with a best throw of 88.17m in the men’s javelin final here.
In another first, three Indians finished in top eight with Kishore Jena (84.77m) and DP Manu (84.14m) taking the fifth and sixth spots respectively. Never before did three Indians finish in top eight of an event in the World Championships.
The 25-year-old Chopra dominated the competition and achieved his best throw of the day in his second attempt. He had a foul to start with, but then got 88.17m, 86.32m, 84.64m, 87.73m and 83.98m.
Pakistan’s reigning Commonwealth Games champion Arshad Nadeem took the silver with his season’s best throw of 87.82m, while Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) of Czech Republic got the bronze.
Chopra has now become only the second Indian — after legendary shooter Abhinav Bindra — to simultaneously hold the Olympics and World Championships title. Bindra won the World Championships title when he was 23, and the Olympics gold at 25.
Chopra, who had become the first Indian Olympic track and field gold medallist in the Tokyo Games in 2021, had won a silver in the 2022 edition of the World Championships.
The Indian superstar also became only the third javelin thrower in history to simultaneously hold the Olympics and World Championships titles after the iconic Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic and Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.
With his feat on Sunday, Chopra has won every title his sport has to offer. He has won gold in the Asian Games (2018) and Commonwealth Games (2018), besides four individual Diamond League Meeting titles (two each in 2022 and 2023) and Diamond League champion’s trophy last year.
He also became junior world champion in 2016 and won the Asian Championships title in 2017.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Neeraj Chopra saying his dedication, precision and passion make him not just a champion in athletics but a symbol of unparalleled excellence in the entire sports world.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi said, “The talented @Neeraj_chopra1 exemplifies excellence. His dedication, precision and passion make him not just a champion in athletics but a symbol of unparalleled excellence in the entire sports world.”
“Congrats to him for winning the Gold at the World Athletics Championships,” he said.
The talented @Neeraj_chopra1 exemplifies excellence. His dedication, precision and passion make him not just a champion in athletics but a symbol of unparalleled excellence in the entire sports world. Congrats to him for winning the Gold at the World Athletics Championships. pic.twitter.com/KsOsGmScER
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2023
President Droupadi Murmu, congratulating Chopra said his performance will inspire millions of the country’s youth.
“India is proud of Neeraj Chopra. I convey my heartiest congratulations to him. I wish his legend grows with more such feats,” she said.
“Neeraj Chopra adds yet another golden page to the history of Indian sports by becoming the first ever Indian to win a gold medal in World Athletics Championships. His superlative performance in the javelin throw finals at Budapest will inspire millions of our youth,” the President said on microblogging site X.
The Congress said he is not only a world champion but also a true champion outside of the track field.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the magnificent performance of Chopra has again made India proud
“We are thrilled to witness that his brilliance, dedication and hard work has now made him the first Indian to win a gold at the prestigious World Athletics Championships and added another feather to his growing list of stupendous achievements,” Kharge said in a post on X.
“Many congratulations Neeraj! May you grow from strength to strength and keep inspiring young sportspersons,” he said.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also hailed Chopra’s feat and congratulated him.
“Once again he has held India’s head high on the world stage. The coming generations of sportspersons of the country will continue to get inspired by Neeraj’s commitment and discipline,” Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on Facebook.
