New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra scripted history after winning a gold medal in Javelin throw. His first throw of 87.58 was enough for him to earn a gold medal in javelin throw final. Chopra became the first ever Indian athlete to win an Olympic title in athletics.
Neeraj Chopra 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.
The 23-year-old son of a farmer from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana produced a second round throw of 87.58m in the finals to stun the athletics world and end India’s 100-year wait for a track and field medal in the Olympics.
His was the country’s seventh medal and first gold in this Olympics and he joined shooter Abhinav Bindra (2008 Beijing Games) in an elite and very hard-to-reach club of India’s individual gold winners in the showpiece.
With this, the country surpassed the previous best haul of six medals achieved in the 2012 London Games. Apart from Chopra’s gold, India have won to silver and four bronze medals.
On the wrestling mat, Punia pulled off a bronze medal on Olympic debut after outwitting Daulet Niyazbekov in the men’s freestyle 65kg play-off.
The medal-winning performance saved the 27-year-old and the Indian wrestling contingent from embarrassment since the wrestlers had entered Tokyo with high expectations.
“I am not happy. This is not the result I had set out to achieve. Winning an Olympic medal is no mean achievement but I can’t jump with joy with bronze,” Bajrang told PTI.
The country also raised a toast to golfer Aditi Ashok, who came agonisingly close to a podium finish before ending fourth.
She pulled off the best performance by an Indian golfer in the Olympics but Aditi could not clinch the eagerly-anticipated medal despite spending a majority of the four rounds in contention for a podium finish.
The 23-year-old Bengalurean ended two strokes off the pace with a total of 15-under 269, which was just one stroke below the medal bracket. In the final round, she managed a 3-under 68.
It was a heartbreaking end to Aditi’s campaign considering she started the day in sole second position.
But it was nonetheless a massive improvement as she had finished tied 41st in the 2016 edition where golf made a comeback to the Olympics after over 100 years. (Agencies)
