This blog is part of the series of blogs dedicated to the Olympics Winners held in Tokyo in 2021. Read my first blog to know about Mirabai Chanu. Today, let's know more about our Gold Medalist, Neeraj Chopra.
As most of us are aware, the Tokyo Olympics were postponed from 2020 to 2021 because of the Covid19 or Corona Pandemic. India sent a total of 121 athletes to participate in various sports categories, winning four bronze medals, two silver medals, and one gold medal, for a total of seven medals. Let us learn more about them and the challenges they faced in earning these medals.
Neeraj Chopra - Gold Medalist
Neeraj Chopra was born on December 24, 1997, in Khandra village, Panipat district, Haryana, to Satish Kumar and Saroj Devi. His family is primarily agricultural, and he has two sisters. He graduated from Chandigarh's Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College and is now studying a Bachelor of Arts at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab, as of 2021.
Chopra competed in both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in 2018, acting as the flag bearer for the latter and won gold medals in both. Chopra won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.58 meters on his second try on August 7, 2021. He is one of just two Indians to win an individual Olympic gold medal (the other being Abhinav Bindra) as of 2021, as well as the youngest Indian Olympic gold medallist in an individual event and the only one to win gold on his Olympic debut.
Tokyo Olympics 2020
Chopra made his Olympic debut on August 4, 2021, in the Japan National Stadium, representing India. With a throw of 86.65 meters, he won his qualification group and qualified for the final.
Chopra won the gold medal in the final on 7 August, throwing 87.58 meters on his second try, making him the first Indian Olympian to win a gold medal in athletics and the first Indian Olympic medallist in sports after independence.
Chopra's medal gave India a total of seven medals at the Games, surpassing India's previous high of six medals in the 2012 London Olympics. Chopra became the world's second-ranked athlete in the men's javelin throw as a consequence of his performance in Tokyo.
Chopra also became the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal, following Abhinav Bindra's victory at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the men's 10 m air rifle. His victory was dedicated to Indian sprinters Milkha Singh and P. T. Usha, both past Olympians.
Some historians claim Chopra is India's first Olympic track and field medalist, however, this claim is debatable. Norman Pritchard was the first Indian track and field Olympic medallist, according to Dr Otto Peltzer, a former German athlete and coach who spent many years developing track and field sports in India. Norman Pritchard competed in the 1900 Paris Olympics. Pritchard is officially recognized as India's first Olympic medallist in athletics by both the International Olympic Committee and the Indian Olympic Association.
Chopra was temporarily taken to a Panipat hospital after returning home and having a fever, forcing him to miss a number of celebrations. Chopra said on August 26 that he will cut his 2021 season short to recuperate and prepare for the 2022 World Championships, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games due to a brief illness and a recent rigorous travel schedule.
