Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the World Athletics Championship with a best attempt of 88.17m in the javelin throw final. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem threw 87.82m to finish second
Neeraj Chopra, the golden boy of Indian athletics, is a world champion now. At the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, late on Sunday night, as his javelin took flight and landed at a distance of 88.17m in his second attempt history was made by the 25-year-old from Khandra, Haryana.
He is now the the first Indian ever to clinch a gold medal at the World Athletics Championship. Already an Olympic champion, Chopra now has triumphed the only major competition that was left for him to be conquered.
To add to the joy, India’s Kishore Jena finished fifth with a personal best throw of 84.77m while the third Indian in fray DP Manu finished sixth with a best attempt of 84.14m.
Chopra has an Asian Games gold medal, a Commonwealth Games gold, a Diamond League title, an Asian Championships gold and an U-20 world title. Chopra’s trophy cabinet will now showcase a World Championship gold medal too.
Coming into the World Championship final, Chopra was always the favourite. In the qualification round, the Tokyo Olympics champion threw his season best attempt of 88.77m to qualify in the final with just one throw. The 2024 Paris Olympics qualifying mark is 85.50m. With that one throw, Chopra qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics too.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.
