Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra became only the second Indian after long jumper Anju Bobby George (2003) to win a medal at World Athletics’ premier event with a throw of 88.13m in his fourth attempt.
Neeraj Chopra, of India, waves after the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships. AP
Neeraj Chopra expressed delight after winning a historic silver at the World Athletics Championships in Oregan, USA but revealed he had to battle breezy conditions as well as a groin problem in the final on Sunday.
Javelin thrower Chopra became only the second Indian after long jumper Anju Bobby George (2003) to win a medal at World Athletics’ premier event with a throw of 88.13m in his fourth attempt.
Chopra finished behind Granada’s Anderson Peters, who clinched gold with a throw 90.21m in his very first attempt. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch won bronze with a throw of 88.09m.
“Won a medal for the country, that’s the best thing. Had thought I’ll do well today, but the windy conditions today was a bit of a challenge for me. Didn’t do too well in the first two throws, didn’t get the warm-up that I was looking for.
“Things got better after the fourth throw but by then I had started feeling some discomfort in my groin. Went for it (gold) in the fifth and sixth throws but by then the groin problem had begun to play on my mind,” Chopra said in a video shared on Twitter by journalist Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar).
Chopra though, was content with the silver medal for now, and has already set sights on the next edition of the World Athletics Championships that takes place in Budapest, Hungary from 18 to 27 August next year.
“But I’m still happy I won silver in the end. And there’s a world championships next year as well, so I’ll try and perform better in that one,” the Haryana athlete added.
Read: PM Narendra Modi congratulates Neeraj Chopra on silver medal win
Chopra had made history last year when he became only the second Indian after shooter Abhinav Bindra to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics, clinching the yellow metal in the Tokyo Games with a throw measuring 87.58m to instantly become a household name across the nation of more than a billion.
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