Neeraj Chopra scripts history yet again, becomes first Indian to win gold medal in World Athletics Championships

Budapest, August 27

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra on Sunday scripted history yet again as he became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the World Athletics Championships with a big throw of 88.17m in the men’s javelin final here.

In another first, three Indians finished in top eight with Kishore Jena (84.77m) and DP Manu (84.14m) taking the fifth and sixth spots, respectively. Never before did three Indians finish in top eight of an event in the World Championships.

The 25-year-old Chopra achieved his best throw of the day in his second attempt. He had a foul to start with, but then got 88.17m, 86.32m, 84.64m, 87.73m and 83.98m.

Pakistan’s reigning Commonwealth Games champion Arshad Nadeem took the silver with his season’s best throw of 87.82m, while Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic got the bronze.

#NeerajChopra makes us #Proud again!!#IndianArmy congratulates Subedar Neeraj Chopra on bagging #GoldMedal🥇 in Men’s #Javelin at World Athletics Championship 2023 in Budapest with a throw of 88.17 meters.@Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/mV76vQetWy

— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) August 27, 2023

Chopra has now become only the second Indian — after legendary shooter Abhinav Bindra — to simultaneously hold the Olympics and World Championships titles. Bindra won the World Championships title when he was 23, and the Olympics gold at 25.

Chopra, who had become the first Indian Olympic track and field gold medallist in Tokyo Games in 2021, had won a silver in the 2022 edition of World Championships.

Before him, legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George had won a bronze in the 2003  World Championships.