Let's Know Winners of Tokyo Olympics 2020 - Neeraj Chopra

 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.

Let's Know Winners of Tokyo Olympics 2020 - Mirabai Chanu

As most of us are aware, Tokyo Olympics that was supposed to be conducted in 2020, was conducted in 2021 due to the Covid19 or Corona Pandemic. There was a total of 121 players who went to compete in different sports categories from India among whom India won four Bronze Medal, two Silver Medal and one Gold Medal, which means seven medals in total. Let's know about them and their struggle behind achieving these medals.

Mirabai Chanu - Silver Medalist

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was born on August 8, 1994, to a Meitei family in Nongpok Kakching, Manipur, some 30 kilometers from Imphal. Her family saw her power when she was just 12 years old. When her elder brother struggled to take up a large load of firewood, she could easily bring it home.

Mirabai received her training at Manipur's Sports Academy. She caught rides with sand-carrying truck drivers. She asked the truck drivers to express their thanks after winning the Olympic medal, and she stroked their feet as a show of respect.

Career

Chanu's first significant achievement came at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, when she earned a silver medal in the 48 kg weight category.

2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

In the women's 48 kg division, Chanu qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. She did not finish the event, however, due to no successful lifts in any of her three clean and jerk efforts.

2017-2021

In 2017, she won the gold medal in the Women's 48 kg category at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California, after lifting a competition record 194 kg in total (85 kg snatch and 109 kg clean & jerk).

Chanu won the first gold medal for India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, lifting a total of 196 kilograms, 86 kg in Snatch and 110 kg in Clean and Jerk. She broke the games record for the weight category on her way to the medal, and it was also her personal best effort. With a total lift of 199 kg, her personal best, she lost out on a bronze medal in the 49 kg category at the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships because her Snatch weight was lower than the third-place athlete, both of whom had identical totals.

Mirabai finished fourth in the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships by lifting a total of 201 kg (87 kg Snatch and 114 kg Clean & Jerk). In the 49 kg division, this personal best total also set a new national record. She beat her personal best four months later when she won the gold medal in the 49 kg division at the 2020 Senior National Weightlifting Championships by lifting 203 kg (88 kg in Snatch and 115 kg in Clean & Jerk).

She earned bronze at the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent in April 2021, lifting 86 kg in the snatch and then setting a world record by lifting 119 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 205 kg. Chanu qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics as the sole Indian woman weightlifter by placing second in the Absolute Rankings for the 49 kg division.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

With a total lift of 202 kg, Chanu earned silver in the 49 kg class at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the first Indian weightlifter to win silver at the Olympics and the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleswari. Chanu set a new Olympic record in the clean and jerk with a lift of 115 kg. Her victory gave India its first Olympic medal at the Tokyo Games.

Mirabai Chanu has won numerous World Championships and Commonwealth Games medals. The Indian government honored her with the Padma Shri award for her services to sports. In 2018, the Government of India presented her with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award.