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Historic moment for India at Tokyo Olympics as Neeraj Chopra bags gold in men’s javelin throw

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Neeraj ChopraTokyo: It was a historic moment for India on Saturday, as Neeraj Chopra became only the second individual Indian athlete after Abhinav Bindra to be crowned Olympic champion as he won gold in the men’s javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympics. The gold medal is also India’s first Olympic medal in track-and-field events.

Neeraj Chopra threw a best attempt of 87.58m to win the Olympic gold. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch won silver and fellow Czech Vitezslav Vesely won bronze to complete the podium.

Neeraj began with a 87.03m throw at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, the best of anyone after their first attempts. The Indian javelin thrower then improved to 87.58m with his second throw to maintain his place at the top and went only 76.79m in his third attempt. However, he had done more than enough to get three additional attempts.

In the javelin throw, the top-eight after three attempts each get an additional three throws to make their best attempt.

Meanwhile, German world No. 1 and world champion Johannes Vetter only finished ninth and did not get his three additional throws. It was the biggest surprise of the event.

Neeraj Chopra’s fourth and fifth attempts were foul throws and he finished with 84.24m.

Neeraj Chopra’s historic feat ensured that India ended the Tokyo Olympics on a golden note. The men’s javelin was the last event for the Indian contingent at the Summer Games.

The gold medal win by Neeraj took India’s medal count at Tokyo 2020 to seven - their best-ever haul at a single Olympics.

Talking to media after the win, Neeraj said, "I had no pressure before the Olympics. It was like I have played against these athletes before and there's no reason to worry. I just focused on my performance. That has helped me win gold. For all the facilities I thank SAI, Federation, and TOPS."

He said that the first throw went well and that eased off the pressure, "If the first throw goes well, then it releases the pressure. That happened. The first throw went well and the second throw also was very good. Then I was targetting the Olympic record, and I gave my best. As I said before, it is a very technical event. Therefore, in spite of using my full power and pace, I could not better that. My next target is to breach the 90m."

Here is how people congratulated Neeraj on his historic win:

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