Tokyo Olympics digest: Neeraj Chopra wins India’s first gold medal in 13 years | DW | 07.08.2021

Neeraj Chopra won the men’s javelin competition to secure India’s first Olympic gold medal since 2008.

Chopra, 23, participating in his first Olympics, won the event with his second throw of 87.58 meters. He threw up his arms shortly after his release in celebration, appearing to know that his mark was going to be tough to beat.

Chopra’s gold was India’s first since Abhinav Bindra won gold in shooting at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It’s also India’s first Olympic medal in athletics since the 1900 Paris Olympics.

Czech throwers Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely took the silver and bronze medals.

Here’s the latest news and results from the Tokyo Olympics.

Other gold medals

Kevin Durant scored 29 points to help Team USA defend the gold medal

Team USA successfully defended their gold medal in men’s basketball, winning their rematch with France 87-82. The US had lost to France in their Olympic opener, their first loss at the Olympics in 2004. But the Americans redeemed themselves behind a 29-point performance from NBA superstar Kevin Durant.

In the pool, the US won the women’s water polo gold medal for the third consecutive Olympics. The Americans dominated Spain 14-5 in the gold medal final.

Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan won the women’s 10,000-meter run, her second gold medal and third medal overall in Tokyo. Hasson burst past world record holder Letesenbet Gidey to win with a time of 29:55.32. 

Jakob Ingebrigtsen added to Norway’s gold medals in athletics, winning the men’s 1,500 meters. Ingebrigsten stuck world champion Timothy Cheruiyot for most of the race before kicking late. He set new Olympic record with a time of 3:31.65, breaking the mark set by Kenya’s Abel Kipsang in the semifinals two days earlier.

Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir outdueled compatriot Brigid Kosei to win the women’s marathon in Sapparo. The race was moved up one hour so the runners could avoid the scorching summer heat. It is the second straight Olympics in which Kenya has taken gold in the event.

Women’s golf number one Nelly Korda took gold in the women’s golf tournament, holding onto a one-shot lead in a thrilling final day. Korda, the daughter of former Australian Open tennis champion Petr Kodra, had won the PGA Championship earlier this year. 

Germany update

Germany’s Max Rendschmidt, Rnoald Rauhe, Tom Liebscher and Max Lemke won the gold in the 500-meter sprint

Germany won the men’s Kayak Four 500-meter sprint, chasing down Spain to take the gold. The Germans were a quarter of a second behind the Spanish at the 250-meter mark, but powered in the final meters to win the final.

More news from Tokyo

Germany’s modern pentathlon coach Kim Raisner was told to leave the Olympics for punching a horse during the women’s event on Friday. The incident occurred after Annika Schleu, who was leading the competition, had trouble bringing the horse Saint Boy under control. The International Modern Pentathlon Union deemed Raisner’s action “in violation of the rules.”

Japanese Prime Minster Yoshihide Suga reiterated that the Olympics did not contribute to Tokyo’s recent coronavirus spike. His statements came as infections at the Games rose to 387 and Tokyo reported a new record high 5,042 cases.

dv (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)