Neeraj Chopra continued his impressive show in javelin becoming the first Indian on Sunday to win a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships. India’s golden boy, a name given to Chopra after his historic gold at Tokyo Olympics, achieved the feat in the men’s javelin final at Budapest, Hungary, clinching the top position with a gigantic 88.17m throw, a distance which he touched in his second attempt.
Kishore Jena (84.77m) and DP Manu, other Indians in fray, finished fifth and sixth respectively. Jena threw the javelin for 84.77m, while Manu touched 84.14m.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem finished second with a season’s best throw of 87.82m, while Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) of Czech Republic finished third.
If we shift our focus to Chopra’s performance, the 25-year-old dominated the show after starting with a foul throw. He touched 86.32m, 84.64m, 87.73m, and 83.98m in his other attempts.
As Chopra added another feat in his already decorated CV, we take a look at some of his best performances in the past.
Olympics gold
Neeraj Chopra has been a dominant force in javelin ever since his introduction at the world stage. However, his biggest sporting moment was back in 2020 at the Tokyo Olympics, when he won the gold at the megaevent. He bagged the top spot with an 87.58m attempt in the final, also making him the first Indian among track and field athletes to win an individual medal in Olympics.
World Championships 2023
While Chopra had managed gold medals in almost every event he has been a part of a world championship gold remained elusive. However, that too has now been added to Chopra’s CV, which already boasts of a silver medal at the same competition last year.
Asian Games 2018
Neeraj Chopra is also the first Indian to win a javelin gold at the Asian Games, a feat which he achieved in the previous edition in Jakarta. Chopra achieved the feat with 88.06m throw, which was also the national record at that time.
Prior to Chopra only Gurtej Singh had won a javelin medal for India in the continental event. Gurtej had won bronze medal back in 1982, when the games were held in New Delhi.
Commonwealth Games 2018
Before Chopra scripted history at the Asian Games, he also became the first Indian to win a javelin gold at the Commonwealth Games. He had achieved the feat in Gold Coast, Australia with CWG games being held right before the Asian showdown in Jakarta.
World U-20 Championship 2016
If we go back to juniors, Neeraj Chopra shot to fame at the World U-20 Championship, where he won a gold medal with 86.48m attempt. This was not his only feat at the competition, but he also set a new record, which remains intact. Neeraj then broke the previous record set by Lativa’s Zigismunds Sirmais, who had threw the javelin 84.69m.
