TOKYO: Neeraj Chopra won the men’s javelin today with a best throw of 87.58m, claiming a historic first Olympic gold in athletics for India.
The Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch won silver with a best attempt of 86.67m and Vitezslav Vesely claimed the bronze with 85.44m.
Chopra, the 2018 Commonwealth champion, seized the lead after reaching the 87.03m mark with his first attempt, a distance no other competitor achieved during the final, winning India’s first gold of the Tokyo 2020 Games, as his overjoyed teammates and coaches watched from the stands.
The night was a disappointment for Germany’s Johannes Vetter, a favourite for the podium as the only competitor in the final to have cleared 90m in his career, who was unable to find his usual poise and finished ninth.