Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra etched his name in history by becoming the first Indian athlete to secure a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.
He outperformed Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem in the men’s javelin event with a throw of 88.17 meters during the final.
Chopra, a gold medalist from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, had secured a silver at the world championship in Eugene the previous year.
“After the Olympic gold I really wanted to win the world championships. I just wanted to throw further. This is brilliant for the national team but it was my dream to win gold at the world championships. This has been a great championships for India and I am proud to bring another title to my country. I don’t think I am the best thrower here. I wanted to throw more tonight,” he said.
“I wanted to throw more than 90m tonight but it needs all parts of the puzzle to be there. I couldn’t put it all together this evening. Maybe next time,” Chopra added.
India’s medal count at the World Athletics Championships also includes Anju Bobby George, who secured bronze in the women’s long jump back in 2003 in Paris.
Pakistan and Czech Republic take silver, bronze
Nadeem, winner of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, won the silver, delivering his season’s best throw of 87.82 meters on his third attempt, despite undergoing elbow surgery and recovering from a knee injury. The bronze medal was seized by Jakub Vadlejch from the Czech Republic with a throw of 86.67.
Chopra’s journey to victory began with a commanding performance in the qualification round, where he took the lead with an impressive throw of 88.77 meters. The final event, however, began with a moment of disappointment as Chopra intentionally stepped over the line during his first attempt, resulting in a foul.
He rose back to the lead in his second attempt, as he knew he had executed a winning throw, with arms raised in his trademark celebratory gesture and a nod to the sky.
Nadeem’s pursuit of Chopra was valiant but eventually fell short as he faced exhaustion. Julian Weber’s efforts almost secured Germany’s first medal in Budapest on the championship’s final day, yet he was edged into fourth place as Vadlejch saved his best throw for his fifth attempt.
Vadlejch, reflecting on the competition, commented: “It was quite a battle, and I hope Julian Weber doesn’t hold a grudge against me.”
Kishore Jena and DP Manu claimed fifth and sixth places respectively, contributing to India’s impressive presence with three athletes in the top six.
tg/jsi (dpa, Reuters)
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