Neeraj Chopra’s Journey of Winning Gold is Inspiring
Aug 09, 2021
Tokyo Olympics 2020 is a big win for India as the country won 7 medals as of now, 1 Gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze medals. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra made history by winning first gold at the Tokyo Olympics. He is just 23 years old and we are already inspired by his journey of winning gold.
After Abhinav Bindra, Neeraj is the second one to win individual gold at the Olympics. He won with an impressive throw of 87.58m in the finals, outperforming his competitors (Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) and Vitezslav Vesely (85.44m)) by a fair margin.
He is from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana. On August 4th, he became the first Indian to ever qualify for the Olympics final of javelin-throw.
A junior world champion, Chopra has been consistently improving his performance since 2013, and his personal best, recorded at Indian Grand Prix in 2021, stands at 88.07m!
Earlier in 2018, he won Gold at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
#IND National Anthem at Olympic Stadium in #Tokyo2020
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 7, 2021
Thank you @Neeraj_chopra1 #NeerajChopra pic.twitter.com/68zCrAX9Ka
His javelin journey started when he attended a fitness center in Panipat where he caught the attention of Javelin thrower Jai Chaudhary. He said: One evening at the stadium, I just asked him to throw the javelin. It traveled about 35-40m, which was pretty impressive for a first-timer. What I liked more was the way he threw it. Neeraj used to be overweight those days. But his body was pretty flexible. Chaudhary, who recognized the untapped potential in Chopra, talked to his family and convinced them to invest in their son's future.
The #gold medal every Indian was waiting for ????#IND pic.twitter.com/XKtVgOFS73
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 7, 2021
Chopra is also a Subedar with the Indian Army.
He said: Everyone thinks about winning a medal all the time. But when I am competing, I aim to nail a near-perfect throw. Once I complete that, I take everything, even medals, as a bonus
Haryana: People celebrate outside the residence of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra in Panipat as he wins the first #Gold medal for India at #Tokyo2020 with 87.58 meters throw pic.twitter.com/KHpJMIews3
— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2021
He already has four international titles and it looks like his journey has just begun.
