Neera Chopra (Image Credit: Getty Images) Neera Chopra etched his name in history by winning the first ever Indian Olympic medal in athletics-gold in a men’s spear fits the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, held on August 7, 2021. Beijing 2008.But the path of Chopra to Olympic gold was nothing but easy. He approached the qualifying for the Rio Olympics in 2016 and did not reach the 83 -meter qualifying marks with the best 82.23 m throw. Just a week after missing, Chopra bounced off a spectacular fashion by setting a new junior world record with 86.48 m at the 2016 World Championship in Bydgoszcz, Poland. This victory served as a springboard for further success, including medals at Asian games and social games.The main obstacle came in 2019, when Chopra was scored due to the injury of the elbows that required an operation on May 3 – on the day when the qualifying window for the Tokyo Olympics opened. The injury has already excluded him from the 2019 World Championship in Doha, so his journey to Tokyo even more uncertainty.Chopranred, Chopra, organized a strong comeback in January 2020 at a meeting in Potchefstroom in South Africa. He released 87.86 m, exceeded the Olympic Qualification Standard 85 m. Putting the Tokyo Games due to the COVID-19 pandemia turned out to be a blessing in disguise, giving him more time for training and regaining the top form. He continued to impress the home circuit and set a national record of 88.07 m, which later improved to Indian Grand Prix 3 in Patiala.Chopra came to Tokyo and was not among the highest medals. But when the moment came, he put under pressure. In the Olympic finals, he opened with 87.03 m and followed him with a winning effort of 87.58 m in the second attempt. His remaining feast included efforts of 76.79 m, two invalid attempts and the last hour 84.24 m.Jakub Vadlejch took silver with 86.67 m in the Czech Republic, while his countryman Vitezslav Vesely won bronze with 85.44 m. Johannes Vetter’s favorite show of Germany, who was constantly throwing over 90 meters leading to games, managed to manage only 82.52 mA.The historical victory of Neera Chopry 7th August became a decisive moment in the history of Indian sport and fulfilled the long -term dream that icons like Milkha Singh and PT Usha were missing. More than just a personal triumph, his gold medal signaled the Indian arrival on the global athletic scene – a symbol of resistance, perseverance and national pride.
