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Neeraj Chopra has finally won a gold medal in the men’s Javelin Throw at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Neeraj’s javelin covering a distance of 88.17m shocked the entire arena with his blasting performance. Making the entire nation proud, PM Modi hailed Chopra’s performance by tweeting, ‘The talented @Neeral_chopra1 exemplifies excellence. His dedication precision and passion not only make him 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.’
All the way from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to Budapest 2023, Neeraj has become a household name in every Indian street, not just gaining fame and money, but allowing the sport to grow. After his spectacular performance in Tokyo, Neeraj was given the nickname the ‘Golden Boy’ and was greeted by the entire world.
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88.17 metres! Gold at Budapest World Athletics 2023
What a spectacular throw it was, covering a distance of 88.17 with the entire arena cheering for India’s Golden Boy in Budapest. Some say Neeraj Chopra is a prodigy, one who has brought a revolution in the Indian Track and Field, allowing the sport to grow and motivating millions of youngsters to take up javelin and other events in track and field. Earlier, Neeraj won a silver at Eugene, Oregon 2022, where he set a new personal best of 89.94 metres.
- Before Neeraj won silver at Oregon 2022, it was Anju Bobby George, who won a bronze at IAAF World Championship in Paris in 2003.
- Back in 2015, Neeraj broke the world junior record by throwing a distance of 81.04 metres at the All India Inter-University Athletics meet. This was his first throw over 80 metres.
- After he secured the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Neeraj broke a series of International records by winning the Diamond League at Lausanne in 2022 and Doha in 2023.
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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 for 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!
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