Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra threw a massive 87.58m in the men’s javelin throw finals to stun the athletics world and end India’s 100-year wait for a track and field medal in the Olympics. He not only won the elusive gold but also became the second individual from India to clinch the yellow metal.

As the whole of India celebrates Neeraj Chopra and his win, here’s a tweet of his from 2017 that shows that his dedication, focus and hard work helped him to script history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“When the desire of success does not let you sleep, when you like nothing else but hard work, when continuous work does not tire you, be assured your success will chart a new history,” Neeraj tweeted in Hindi.

Neeraj outperformed his opponents quite easily and remained on top to immortalise himself as the first track-and-field Games medal-winner for India.

After 87.03m and 87.58m in the first two throws, Neeraj’s third attempt was a poor 76.79m before he fouled the next two. But his second-round throw was enough to get him home.

On June 16, 2021, before the start of the Summer Games, he had tweeted: “As far as preparations for Tokyo 2020 are concerned, all my requirements have been taken care of in the best possible way. I’m training in Europe currently and am thankful for the efforts made by the government and the Indian embassy, despite the tough visa rules.”

Here is a list of major achievements of Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra:

Olympics: Gold in 2021.

Asian Games: Gold in 2018.

Asian Athletics Championships: Gold in 2018.

World U-20 Athletics Championships: Gold in 2017

South Asian Games: Gold in 2016

Asian Junior Championships: Gold in 2016

Current National Record Holder (88.07m – 2021)

Current World Junior Record Holder (86.48m – 2016).

Neeraj’s first medal in a national senior championship came in July 2015 during the Inter-State event in Chennai with a throw of 77.33m. A few months later, he won gold in the National Open Championships in Kolkata.