Neeraj Chopra hogged the limelight as the whole of India celebrated the javelin thrower's historic feat on day fifteen of the ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
The 23-year-old athlete took home the gold medal in the men's javelin throw with a best effort of 87.58m on the final day of throws at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium.Chopra threw his best with only his second attempt and it proved a road too far for the other competitors on the day as he became the first from India to win a gold in track and field in the Olympics
In another good show, grappler Bajrang Punia won a bronze medal in the men's freestyle 65kg category after defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov. Punia defeated Niyazbekov 8-0 in the bronze medal match.In the golf event, Aditi Ashok narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal after finishing a brilliant 4th in the women's individual stroke play.
In the morning, the 23-year-old rolled in five birdies to be placed a famous fourth on fifteen-under 201 ahead of Australia's Hannah Green and Denmark's Pedersen who tied for fifth. The Indian finished the final day with 68 (-3) at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.
Coming back to Neeraj, he began his quest for a medal with a massive throw of 87.03 meters and was leading the pack after the end of the first attempt. He bettered it with the second throw of 87.58m.
While he wasn't able to improve any further, it was enough to get him the coveted medal. He is now the second Indian after Abhinav Bindra to win a gold medal in individual events.
( With inputs from ANI )
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