On August 7, 2021 Neeraj Chopra won India’s first Olympic gold medal in Athletics. He emerged top of the field in men's javelin throw in Tokyo.
The gold was sealed with an 87.58m throw. He didn't even need to throw his personal best of 88.07m.
Neeraj was born in Haryana's Khandra village, near Panipet. Concerned about his weight, Chopra's father, a farmer took him to Shivaji stadium Neeraj had tried various other sports.
Also read: Subedar Neeraj Chopra — an Olympian and a soldier
But when he saw a few men throwing the javelin, he wanted to try it too. When he realised that he was good at it, he started loving it more.
He burst into the spotlight with a historic gold in the junior world championships in 2016.
He set an Under-20 world record of 86.48m which still stands. Other laurels include gold at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in 2018, gold at the Asian Athletic Championships in 2017 and gold at the South Asian Games in 2016.
