Tokyo Olympics: Meet Subedar Neeraj Chopra of Indian Army whose golden throw earned India’s first gold
Not many know, the 23-year-old lad is a farmer's son from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana and serves in the Indian Army.
FollowThe man with a golden arm, Neeraj Chopra has earned the gold medal for Javelin Throw in Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The nation erupted with joy as Star javelin thrower Neeraj scripted history by becoming the only second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics, outperforming the field by quite a distance to clinch the historic medal for the country.
Not many know, the 23-year-old lad is a farmer's son from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana and serves in the Indian Army.
India's first-ever junior world champion, Neeraj Chopra, was selected within the Indian Army as a junior military officer (JCO) on the post of Naib Subedar in 2016.
The Army would normally select a sportsperson on a non-commissioned rank but Neeraj's potential in javelin throw was the rationale he was given JCO rank which spoke volumes about Neeraj's ability on the field.
In the way Milkha Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Kumar made the country proud within the previous editions of the Olympics, the Tokyo 2020 Games have also seen an upscale amount of athletes coming from the Indian Army who've been very prolific, especially in athletics.
Neeraj produced a second-round throw of 87.58m in the finals to stun the athletics world and end India's 100-year wait for a track and field medal in the Olympics.
Chopra won the country's seventh medal and first gold during this Olympics and joined shooter Abhinav Bindra (2008 Beijing Games) as India's individual gold winners within the showpiece. With this, the country surpassed the previous best haul of six medals achieved within the 2012 London Games.
