Tokyo: Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra scripted history by winning India’s first track and field medal in Olympics — a gold — in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Saturday. Chopra’s throw of 87.58 stood tall in the javelin till the end.
Chopra is now only the second Indian after Abhinav Bindra to bag an individual gold medal at the Olympics. By virtue of this gold, Chopra now holds the yellow metal in javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the Olympics.
His gold was seventh medal at Tokyo Games and have surpassed India’s tally of six medals at 2012 London Olympics.
Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch won the silver with a throw of 86.67m followed by compatriot Vitezslav Vesley, who took bronze with a throw of 85.44m.
Earlier in the day, Bajrang Punia won the bronze medal in men’s wrestling freestyle 65kg, getting the better of Kazakhstan’s Niyazbekov 8-0.
Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu (silver), wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya (silver), shutter PV Sindhu (bronze), boxer Lovlina Borgohain (bronze) and the men’s hockey team (bronze) are India’s other medallists at the Tokyo Games.
