Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has jumped 14 spots on the latest world rankings to become World No 2. The 23-year-old is the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic medal, the second from the country to win an individual gold. 

Neeraj Chopra was ranked 16th in men’s javelin before the Tokyo Olympics. However, his exploits at the international multi-sport event saw him make huge gains on the table. He currently has a ranking score of 1315 and is now second only to Germany’s Johannes Vetter (1396).

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Vetter, 28, was the favourite to win the men’s javelin at Olympics 2020. However, the German finished ninth. He came into the Games with not very strong performances against his name. Neeraj and the World No 1 are separated by 81 points. They will take on each other at the World Championships in Oregon next year. 

Poland’s Marcin Krukowski, Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch and Germany’s Julian Weber – in order – are the others in the top five ranks. Vadlejch won the silver medal at the Olympics. 

Chopra, who will aim to take his rich vein to secure a podium finish at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022, threw the javelin to a distance of 87.58m to win gold at the Tokyo Games.

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On Wednesday, the World Athletics (WA) ranked Neeraj Chopra’s gold-winning performance among the 10 magical moments of Tokyo Olympic Games. 

“Most keen followers of the sport had heard of Neeraj Chopra before the Olympic Games. But after winning the javelin in Tokyo, and in the process becoming India’s first athletics gold medallist in Olympic history, Chopra’s profile sky-rocketed,” WA wrote on its website.