Neeraj Chopra has won every title the sport has to offer. Now, it's time for a do-over
U20 World Championships gold. Check. Asian Championships gold. Check. Commonwealth Games gold. Check. Asian Games gold. Check. Olympic gold. Check. Diamond League trophy. Check. World Championships gold. Check.
This is not a wish list of a teenager made right after watching a motivational movie. Or a shopping list of a soon-to-be bride. This is what Neeraj Chopra’s trophy cabinet looks like after his Sunday night triumph in the World Athletics Championships finals in Budapest, Hungary. Throw in a couple of silver medals he won at last year’s World Championships and Asian Junior Championships in 2016, too, and you have a treasure box that’s never been seen in India.
Chopra threw his javelin 88.17m in his second out of six attempts. No one from the 12 strong finals line-up could breach the mark as Chopra became the first Indian ever to win a gold at the World Athletics Championships. The closest was Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (87.82). When he won silver at the World Championships in Eugene, US, last year, he had said, “Yeah, but it’s not gold.” Well, it is now.
The hallmark of Chopra’s ‘golden’ career has been his ability to gauge the conditions better than his competitors. In every competition there have been players with better personal and season best throws but Chopra has always managed to win on the big day. He had arrived in Budapest having played in just three competitions this year. He had hurt his groin in one of those competitions.
According to Sportstar, Chopra barely threw a javelin in practice to avoid any possibility of hurting that muscle again. “I was thinking a bit about my groin injury. I was being careful, and my speed was not 100%,” he said. He still won.
«Immense pride watching Neeraj Chopra soar to
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