Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra made history on Sunday as he won the silver medal at the World Athletics Championships. The medal helped him become the second Indian athlete after Anju Bobby George to win a medal at the prestigious event.
Chopra began with a foul throw in his first attempt, however, came back with a 82.39 metres throw in the second shot. However, the damage was done as defending champion and rival Anderson Peters of Grenada registered a 90.21 metres throw in his very first attempt.
The Indian Olympian has been looking to break the 90 metres threshold since the turn of the year, but has been unsuccessful till now. Neeraj came up with an 86.37 metres throw in his third attempt, as he remained firm in the fourth position behind Anderson Peters, Jakub Vadlejch and Julian Weber.
Chopra came up with his best self in the fourth attempt, when he produced a 88.13 metres throw, overtaking Jakub Vadlejch and Julian Weber. However, he failed to beat the throws by Peter, who clinched the gold medal, limiting Chopra with the silver.
The victory marks Chopra’s fourth medal in the ongoing year, the last of which came at the Stockholm Diamond League. However, the win also marked his second biggest achievement following the Olympics in senior level, equalling Anju Bobby George’s two-decades old record.
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Meanwhile, Chopra emerged as the only Indian with a podium finish on Sunday, as both Rohit Yadav and Eldhose Paul were unable to clinch medals.
Yadav, who was competing along with Neeraj Chopra in the same event, produced 77.96, 78.05 and 78.72 metres throws before he finished at the 10th place and was eliminated.
On the other hand, Eldhose Paul also finished his campaign without a medal as the 25-year-old finished in the ninth position in triple jump, with his best jump of 16.79 metres.
