India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra added another chapter to his glittering career as he won the gold medal at the World Championships in Budapest on Sunday night. Chopra became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Worlds and the feat helped him clinch the lone major title which was missing in his glorious trophy cabinet. The 25-year-old is the reigning Olympic and Asian Games champion besides emerging victorious in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Repeating his tremendous form that he showed in the qualifiers on Friday, Chopra, a Subedar in the Indian Army, pulled off a commendable second attempt of 88.17m in the final.
The Haryana athlete also bettered the silver medal which he won in the previous edition at Eugene last year. Besides Chopra's collection of gold and silver, India's lone medal at the mega event is the bronze which long jumper Anju Bobby George won in Paris in 2003.
Chopra has indeed been the posterboy of Indian athletics and no athlete from the country dominated a track event like he has. He won the first track and field medal for the country in Olympics - a sparkling gold in Tokyo a couple of years ago. The ability to come good at the crunch in marquee events has been Chopra's speciality. He had sealed his spot in the final and also next year's Paris Olympics by producing his season best throw of 88.77m in his first attempt in the qualifiers.
Such has been Chopra's consistency that anything other than a gold is considered a failure! Chopra has come back stronger and fitter after an injury break this season. He's been choosy and continued to do his work silently. The 90m mark is next on his radar and it is just a matter of time before he breaches it. Next month's Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 Olympics are the next major assignments for the champion athlete.
Chopra's success has sparked a revolution in javelin throw in the country. The performance of Kishore Jena (84.77m) and D P Manu (84.14m), who finished fifth and sixth respectively, is a testimony to it.
Chopra is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete for sure. Despite all the success at a relatively young age, he's remained humble and his hunger for further glory is the hallmark of a true great.
