With a magnificent throw of 88.17 metres in the men’s javelin final on Sunday, Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra made history once more. He was the first Indian to win a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.
With Kishore Jena (84.77m) and DP Manu (84.14m) capturing the fifth and sixth slots, respectively, three Indians finished in the top eight, marking another first. Three Indian athletes placed in the top eight of an event at the World Championships for the first time ever.
In his second effort, the 25-year-old Chopra produced his finest throw of the day. He began with a foul but went on to receive 88.17m, 86.32m, 84.64m, 87.73m, and 83.98m.
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, the defending Commonwealth Games champion, earned silver with a throw of 87.82 metres, while Czech Jakub Vadlejch won bronze.
Chopra is now only the second Indian, after renowned shooter Abhinav Bindra, to hold the Olympic and World Championship titles consecutively. At age 23, Bindra won the World Championships, and at age 25, he won the Olympic gold.
Chopra won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships after becoming the first Indian to win an Olympic gold in track and field at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Anju Bobby George, a renowned long jumper, had won bronze in the 2003 World Championships before him.
Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Neeraj Chopra for winning a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships and said he exemplifies excellence.
In a series of tweets, the President said, “Neeraj Chopra adds yet another golden page to the history of Indian sports by becoming the first ever Indian to win a gold medal in World Athletics Championships. His superlative performance in the javelin throw finals at Budapest will inspire millions of our youth.”
She said, “India is proud of Neeraj Chopra. I convey my heartiest congratulations to him. I wish his legend grows with more such feats. It is a matter of great national pride that three Indians, Neeraj Chopra, D.P. Manu and Kishore Jena together competed in the final round of the World Athletics Championships 2023 javelin event and they finished in the top six. I congratulate each one of them. They have taken Indian athletics to unprecedented heights. I wish them many more laurels in the future.”
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The talented Neeraj Chopra exemplifies excellence. His dedication, precision and passion make him not just a champion in athletics but a symbol of unparalleled excellence in the entire sports world. Congrats to him for winning the Gold at the World Athletics Championships.”
The Indian superstar also became only the third javelin thrower in history to simultaneously hold the Olympics and World Championships titles after the iconic Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic and Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.
In addition to winning the World Championships in 1993, 1995, and 2001, Zelezny won the Olympic gold medal in 1992, 1996, and 2000. 2008 Olympic Games and 2009 World Championship gold medalist Thorkildsen.
Chopra accomplished every championship his sport has to offer with his performance on Sunday. In addition to four individual Diamond League Meeting titles (two in each of 2022 and 2023) and the Diamond League champion’s trophy last year, he has won gold in the Asian Games (2018) and Commonwealth Games (2018).
In addition, he won the Asian Championships in 2017 and was crowned junior world champion in 2016.
