Meet Neeraj Chopra, India’s Golden Athlete at Tokyo Olympics!

Neeraj Chopra has truly made all of us proud by winning gold after 100 years for India at the Olympics! His phenomenal performance as a Javelin thrower brought us the shining medal after a long time. Chopra qualified for the finals with the help of his stunning throw of 86.65m that led him to the top of the Group A contestant list. Let’s find out more about this star athlete who’s making India proud!

India’s First Gold Medallist at Tokyo Olympics

• Neeraj Chopra became the India’s first gold medallist at Tokyo Olympics 2020 on 7th August 2021 and the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in Track.
• Neeraj Chopra incredible throw covered a distance of 87.58m while his closet competitors, Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely covered 86.67 and 85.44 respectively.
• India has won seven medals in the most prestigious multi-sporting event

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Early Life and Career

Neeraj Chopra was born in Khandra Village of Haryana to a family of Ror Maratha. He completed his schooling at DAV College, Chandigarh. He joined the Indian Army with the rank of Naib Subedar in 2016. He has participated in a number of events through the course of his career. He has won various accolades and awards for his performance as well. He is currently under the training of German biomechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz.

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First Indian to Win Gold at Asian Games in 2018

Neeraj Chopra’s winning streak began at the 2016 South Asian games where he won a gold medal with a throw of 82.23m. He also participated in the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championship in Poland and set a world junior record. However, he failed to qualify in the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2017, he participated in the Asian Athletic Championships and won another gold with his exemplary performance.

It was in 2018 that he registered the season best effort of 86.47 m in men’s javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games. With this achievement, he joined the elite list of Indian athletes who have won a gold medal on their Commonwealth Games Debut. In the Doha Diamond League, he again broke the national record of 87.43m. 

In 2018, Neeraj Chopra was conferred with the Arjuna Award after winning gold in the Gold Coast Commonwealth. Neeraj Chopra opened his international season of 2021 with a throw of 83.18 meters. This won him a gold medal at an event in Lisbon, Portugal.

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A Step Closer Towards Olympic Medal

Neeraj Chopra has qualified for the final of the Men’s Javelin Throw at the Tokyo Olympics with the best throw on 7th August 2021. All eyes will be on this incredible Indian athlete. Neeraj Chopra’s performance can be regarded as one of the best as his throw crossed the gold medal favourite Johannes Vetter of Germany’s performance. 

He has successfully qualified for the Men’s Javelin Throw final at the Tokyo Olympics. Therefore, making a new mark for Indian athletes at the Olympics. 

Speaking on how he managed to deliver such an extraordinary performance, Neeraj Chopra said, “In the warm up throw, I was leaning to one side a bit and was not able to put all my power behind. Coach told me to follow the javelin and focus on a good release angle, or else it can be a foul. I focused on one point of the javelin. If you give more height here, it will come down quickly.”

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So, this was all about Neeraj Chopra, the Indian Javelin Thrower at the Olympics. Watch this space to stay updated about everything education-related. For the latest updates, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and also subscribe to our newsletter. The Leverage Edu team wishes all the Indian Olympians all the very best!