Neeraj Chopra
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra delivered India's elusive Olympic medal in athletics on Saturday at the 2020 Tokyo Games to end the nation's wait of 100 years with a throw of 87.58m. With the historic gold, Neeraj became Independent India's first-ever track and field medallist.
A pre-tournament medal contender, the 23-year-old Chopra fuelled country's expectations by topping the qualification round with a stunning throw of 87.03m in his first attempt in the final which automatically placed him atop among the 12 competitors and bettered it with a throw of 87.58 in his second attempt with was enough to consolidate his position. World No.1 Johannes Vetter of Germany, who has a season-best of 96.29m, manage to hurl only 82.52m before incurring two foul throws to fall out of contention.
The closest to Neeraj's number was Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic with his best attempt of 86.76m followed by his compatriot Vitezsla Vesely of 85.44m.
Neeraj's gold not only took India's tally to seven medals at the 2020 Tokyo Games - the best-ever managed by the nation at an Olympics - the medal is also India's first in track and field event since the 1920 Antwerp Games.
Three track and field athletes were part of the five-member Indian team at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium -- the other two being wrestlers. Since then, no Indian has won a medal in athletics.
The International Olympic Committee still credits Norman Pritchard's 200m and 200m hurdles silver medals in the 1900 Paris Olympics to India though various research, including the records of then IAAF (now World Athletics), showed that he had competed for Great Britain.
A farmer's son from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana who took up athletics to shed flab, Chopra scripted history by winning the elusive medal, which the likes of late Milkha Singh and P T Usha let it slip from their grasp in 1964 and 1984 editions.
