Neeraj Chopra has won India’s first gold medal in Olympic track and field with a throw of 87.58 meters to clinch the javelin title at the Tokyo Games. He was appearing for the first time at the Olympics and he created history.
India’s only previous medals in Olympic track and field were two silver medals won by Norman Pritchard in the 200-meters and the 200-meter hurdles at the Paris Games in 1900.
Chopra was the first athlete from India to win gold in javelin at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games and he has set a new benchmark in Tokyo. He held off athletes from the Czech Republic to finish atop the podium. Jakub Vadlejch took silver and former world champion Vitezslav Vesely bronze.