Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra achieved another historic feat on Sunday, becoming the first Indian athlete to win World Athletics Championships gold medal during the men's javelin throw final event in Budapest. Chopra's second attempt in the final saw him launch the javelin to a distance of 88.17 meters, which remained the highest in the event. Neeraj's achievement marked a significant improvement from the 2022 edition of the Worlds, where he secured a silver medal.
Neeraj Chopra edged out Pakistan compatriot and 2022 Commonwealth Games champion Arshad Nadeem to clinch gold medal with a massive thrown of 88.17m on his second attempt in the final. Nadeem with 87.82 m got a silver medal. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch secured the bronze with the best throw of 86.67 m. The two other Indians in javelin final – Kishore Jena (best of 84.77 m) finished fifth while DP Manu (best of 84.14 m) finished sixth.Now, India has medals of all colours at the World Championships. This is Neeraj Chopra’s second medal at the World Championships after he secured a silver last year. Before his two medals, India’s last medalist was Anju Bobby George back in the 2003 World Championships, getting a bronze for the women’s long jump.