India at 2020 Tokyo Olympics Day 15: Neeraj Chopra scripts history, wins historic gold in javelin throw final
Neeraj became only the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics, out-performing the field by some distance to immortalise himself as the first track-and-field Games medal-winner for the country.
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India's results on Day 15 so far:
- Golf: Aditi Ashok finishes fourth after carding 15-under 269; Diksha Dagar finishes Tied-50th.
- Wrestling: Bajrang Punia wins bronze in men's freestyle 65kg bronze medal match
- Athletics: Neeraj Chopra bags gold in men's javelin throw final.
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5:55 PM (Athletics): With Neeraj's gold, India has also recorded its highest-ever Olympic medal tally. First-ever medal for India in athletics and a historic bronze for the men's hockey team. The best-ever Olympics for India -- 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 4 Bronze! India's previous best medal haul was at the 2012 London Games where India had won six medals - two silver and four bronze.
5:47 PM (Athletics): Independent India's first-ever gold medallist in athletics -- Neeraj Chopra!
5:44 PM (Athletics): Norman Pritchard was the first and only athlete to win track medals (silver medals in 200m and 200m hurdle) at the 1900 Paris Olympics while representing British India.
Since then, the closest Indian athletics ever come to achieving this feat was finishing fourth -- by legendary runners Milkha Singh (400m final of 1960 Rome Olympics) and PT Usha (400m hurdles final of 1984 Los Angeles Olympics). Neeraj Chopra has achieved a remarkable feat by winning the gold!
Neeraj's gold has taken India's medal tally to seven in the Tokyo Olympics!
5:40 PM (Athletics): Chopra has done it!!!!! He scripts history by taking the gold javelin throw final. Following three years of carrying the huge expectations of being a medal candidate, Neeraj Chopra grabs a gold. Unreal scenes!
5:39 PM (Athletics): Weber finishes with 75.72m while Vitezslav ends up with a foul throw in Attempt 6.
5:31 PM (Athletics): Consecutive foul throws by Chopra, who is one attempt away from making history. He is still on the top of the table with his 87.58m Attempt 1 throw.
5:26 PM (Athletics): Vadlejch Jakub (CZE) has thrown 86.67m in Attempt 5 to jump to the second position! Chopra, Vadlejch, and Vitezslav Vesely are on the first three spots, followed by Julian Weber at 4th. Weber has managed to record 85.15m in his fifth attempt.
5:21 PM (Athletics): Neeraj Chopra fouls his fourth throw but is still on the top of the table with his 87.58m throw.
Standings after Attempt 4:
- Neeraj Chopra - 87.58m
- Vitezslav Vesely - 85.44m
- Julian Weber - 85.30m
- Arshad Nadeem - 84.62m
5:12 PM (Athletics): Neeraj Chopra leads the top-8. The bottom four including Vetter are eliminated and following eight men will now get the final three throws.
5:10 PM (Athletics): Johannes Vetter (Germany), one of the favourites to clinch a medal at the event, bows out of the Olympics as he finishes ninth!
5:08 PM (Athletics): Johannes Vetter (Germany) fouls his third attempt while Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan) records 84.62m to move to the fourth position.
5:03 PM (Athletics): Czech Republic's Vitezslav Vesely throws 85.44 (season-best) to move up to second place. He has pushed Weber down from the silver medal position. Weber is now in third place with his 85.30m throw.
4:59 PM (Athletics): Neeraj throws 76.79m in his third attempt! He still has the best attempt in the final.
4:57 PM (Athletics): Julian Weber has thrown 77.90m in his second attempt while Johannes Vetter has fouled in his second attempt.
4:47 PM (Athletics): After a sensational 87.03m in his first attempt, Neeraj throws 87.58m in his second! What a performance by the 23-year-old. Neeraj is beaming with confidence to etch his name in the record books! He looks to end India's 100-year wait for an Olympic medal in athletics.
4:41 PM (Athletics): Germany's Johannes Vetter, who is among the favourites to clinch a medal, throws 82.52m in his first attempt. He is currently third.
4:38 PM (Athletics): Germany's Julian Weber throws 55.30 (season-best) in his first attempt. He is now placed second on the table behind Chopra.
4:36 PM (Athletics): Sprinter Norman Pritchard was the first and only athlete to win track medals (silver medals in 200m and 200m hurdle) at the 1900 Paris Olympics while representing British India. Since then, the closest Indian athletics ever come to achieving this feat was finishing fourth.
4:33 PM (Athletics): What a start by Neeraj! He throws 87.03m in his first attempt to get to the top of the table.
4:31 PM (Athletics): Mardare Andrian (Republic of Moldova) starts off with an 81.16m throw! Neeraj is up next.
4:29 PM (Athletics): All eyes on Neeraj Chopra now! He will compete in the men's javelin throw finals.
4:23 PM (Wrestling): Bajrang Punia wins bronze!!! Sixth medal for India so far in the Tokyo Olympics. What a performance from the Indian to record a comfortable 8-0 win.
4:22 PM (Wrestling): 8-0! Bajrang has raced to a comfortable lead with just 30 seconds to go.
4:21 PM (Wrestling): Two more points for Bajrang. He now has a four-point advantage in the final period
4:19 PM (Wrestling): End of the first period and Bajrang is 2-0 up! He's been excellent so far despite the knee injury.
4:18 PM (Wrestling): Bajrang leads 1-0 in the first period as Niyazbekov failed to score during the activity period!
4:15 PM (Wrestling): Bajrang's bronze medal bout against Niyazbekov has started!
4:13 PM (Wrestling): In the first bronze medal match, ROC's Rashidov Gadzhimurad has defeated Hungary's Muszukajev 5-0. Bajrang's bout is up next.
4:04 PM (Wrestling): Bajrang had lost to Niyazbekov in the 2019 World Championships before the Indian wrestler got the better of the Kazakh at the Ali Aliyev Memorial 2021. Will Niyazbekov target Bajrang's injured knee in today's bout?
3:52 PM (Athletics): Neeraj Chopra will also be in action at 4:30 PM IST! The 23-year-old heads into the men's javelin final among the favourites to grab a historic medal and etch his name in Indian track and field history forever.
3:41 PM (Wrestling): Kazakh wrestler Daulet Niyazbekov has won 10-0 against Adama Diatta of Senegal in the repechage round! He will take on Bajrang in the bronze medal bout in men's freestyle 65kg.
3:25 PM (Wrestling): "Due to knee injury, Punia wasn't able to perform attacking wrestling yesterday. We talked over the phone early morning and I told him to give his best today," Bajrang's father Balwan Singh told ANI.
3:19 PM (Wrestling): Bajrang Punia has a chance to clinch India's sixth medal at the Tokyo showpiece. His bronze medal bout in 65kg freestyle is set to start at 3:55 PM IST.
10:19 AM: Commendable performance by Aditi nevertheless, as she challenged the world-beaters throughout the four days. USA's World No.1 Nelly Korda has been crowned the Olympic champion as she cards a total of 17-under 267; Aditi wasn't far behind as she cards 15-under 269.
10:15 AM: Aditi misses the birdie, she will finish right outside the medal scoring position as Lydia Ko finishes tied 2nd and have a chance to claim silver.
10:04 AM: Aditi Ashok with a nice tee to put herself in a nice position to make a birdie and move back into medal position.
10:03 AM: Inami finishes 16 Under and goes Tied-2nd with Lydia Ko. Inami now waits for Lydia to finish her 18th.
10:02 AM: Meanwhile T-1st Inami Mone putts for a par to remain in hunt for a gold medal.
09:59 AM: Aditi begins her last hole and she keeps it in the fairway with a nice swing. Aditi needs a birdie to remain in contention for the bronze medal with third-place Lydia Ko.
09:54 AM: Play has resumed and Aditi misses the putt by a whisker and falls to fourth.
09:08 AM: This effectively means Aditi Ashok will clinch the Silver medal as per her Round 3 results -- where she finished second -- if no play takes place on Sunday as well. The 16 Holes played today will count for nothing as rules say the entire 18 Holes must be completed.
09:07 AM: As per the memo given to the players by organisers, if the weather forces a stoppage, or prevents anyone from teeing off at all Saturday morning, the play could also be delayed until Sunday.
In case, the play can't continue after Sunday night's Closing Ceremony, -- as rain is expected throughout the weekend -- a cancellation of both days would mean medals and rankings will be assessed based on the existing 54-hole scores.
09:01 AM: A severe storm alert and Round 4 was halted just two holes away from culmination due to lightening risks. We will back with details on how the winners will be decided if no further play takes place today.
08:51 AM: Aditi Ashok is back in tied third with Lydia Ko, who missed what seemed a straightforward par putt and ended up with a bogey on the 16th.
08:50 AM: Putter never lets Aditi down as she makes another par to remain 15 under at the 16th. Pressure on Mone and Lydia Ko to keep their lead.
08:38 AM: Aditi putts to make it par to remain on -15 while her rivals Lydia Ko and Inami Mone move ahead with 16 under-par.
08:27 AM: Japan's Inami Mone is now just a shot away from Nelly Korda as she makes a birdie to go -16. She has really put pressure on Aditi Ashok and Lydia Ko for the Tied-2nd spot and so far the duo has withstood it but for how long?
08:24 AM: Aditi Ashok makes another birdie under pressure to remain T-2nd at 15 Under, two strokes behind leader Nelly Korda. Just four more rounds left.
07:58 AM: Aditi Ashok makes a very important birdie! Remains Tied-2nd with just five rounds left.
07:56 AM: Leader Nelly Korda restores a three-shot lead at the top at 17 Under with a birdie after hitting a bogey in Hole 12.
07:49 AM: Local favourite Mone Inami makes a birdie to go 14 under, pressure on Aditi, Lydia and Pedersen to hold onto Tied-2nd spot.
07:44 AM: Aditi takes another par and is off to the 13th Hole. R4 signifies her performance in the Back Nine so far today.
07:43 AM: To give you a further perspective of how good the India World No. 200 has been this week, her Tied 2nd rivals are currently World No. 11 (Ko), World No. 28 (Inami) and World No. 72.
07:40 AM: It's a four-way battle for silver medal among Aditi, Lydia Ko, Denmark's Pedersen and Japan's Mone Inami; all Tied-2nd.
07:35 AM: Nelly Korda makes a bogey as well as her score now reads -16; still a three-stroke lead over her closest rivals.
07:32 AM: Aditi Ashok holds on to T-3rd with Lydia Ko struggling at the back as well at -13.
07:29 AM: Another drop shot by Aditi Ashok, that's two in the last three holes. She will drop to 13 Under and is under the threat of going out of the medal contention.
In case you are wondering who is caddying for Aditi Ashok: "My mom, she's caddying for me. The last time I had my dad on the bag, the experience was just so incredible I was like I want to have my mom next time & I made good on that promise," Aditi was quoted as saying by the Field.
07:17 AM: Leader Nelly Korda is not messing around anymore as since her last double bogey, the USA World No. 1 has made three bogeys on the trot to sit at the top at 17 under-par.
07:15 AM (Golf): Aditi makes a par in three-stroke Hole 10 but Lydia Ko makes a bogey which propels the Indian World No. 200 to Tied-2nd. Denmark's Pedersen is now 14 under as well to join Aditi and Ko at T-2.
07:09 AM (Golf): Aditi Ashok cards 34 in her Front Nine. Quite consistent as she achieved the same in the previous three rounds as well. The last Nine are going to be all about nerves and a fellow golf expert feels Aditi being a fighter is the reason why she came this far. Fingers Crossed!
07:00 AM (Golf): Aditi makes a double bogey at Hole 9 to go Tied 3rd at 14 under-par. Lydia Ko makes par to go second.
06:59 AM (Golf): Nelly Korda reclaims sole lead with a birdie in Hole 9; she cards 36 in Front Nine.
06:46 AM (Golf): And Aditi does it! She remains T1 with 10 Holes left.
06:44 AM (Golf): Korda makes a birdie to go 15 Under, pressure on Aditi, who putts for a birdie next as well.
06:35 AM (Golf): Aditi hits it fairway at the beginning of Hole 8, an opportunity to hit a birdie on the cards!
06:30 AM (Golf): Aditi was never missing that putt. She is now Tied-1st! with Korda making a double bogey. It's a three-way battle to the gold medal now after Hole 7.
06:28 AM (Golf): Leader Nelly Korda makes rare poor choices and is under the pressure of hitting a double bogey.
06:17 AM (Golf): Aditi goes Tied-2nd as she matches Lydia Ko's 14 Under after the New Zealand World No. 2 missed a putt at Hole 6.
06:12 AM (Golf): Aditi Ashok is 3rd at the moment with 13 Holes to go. She is a stroke behind New Zealand's Lydia Ko while being chased by Denmark's Emily Pedersen at 12 under.
4:17 AM (Golf): Round 4 of the women's individual stroke play begins where Aditi Ashok stands in line for a historic podium finish. She carded a three-under 67 in the third round to hold on to the second position. The other Indian golfer in the fray, Diksha Dagar, remained in the lower half of the leaderboard after an erratic one-over 72, her third successive over-par card of the week.
4:10 AM: Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of Day 15 of India's action at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. An exciting and blockbuster day awaits the nation as three athletes stand in the fray for India's next medal at the Japanese capital. If India can manage to clinch a medal in at least two of three events on Day 15, the contingent will match their best every tally of six won at the 2012 London Olympics. Here's all you can expect from the Indian contingent on Saturday, August 7.