Neeraj Chopra, an Indian javelin thrower, has already made history despite his youth by becoming the nations first and only track and field athlete to win an Olympic medal, and that too a gold.
After shooter Abhinav Bindra triumph in the 10m air rifle event at Beijing 2008, Neeraj Chopra gold medal at Tokyo 2020 became India second individual Olympic victory.
Neeraj Chopra began his first attempt in the final with an 87.03m and increased it to an 87.58m in his second. The Indian failed to record a legal effort in his following two attempts, and his misfired third attempt measured a pitiful 76.79m. Neeraj completed his sequence by covering 84.24 on his sixth and last toss.
Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal despite the throws being far from impressive and the challenging conditions in Tokyo that evening. His best throw of 87.58m in his second attempt was sufficient. Actually, his first effort of 87.03 would have been good enough for first place on the podium.
Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) and Vitezslav Vesely (85.44m) of the Czech Republic took second and third place, respectively. In contrast, pre-tournament favourite Vetter came in a distant seventh with 82.52m.