India’s first gold medalist in athletics at the Olympics, Neeraj Chopra, attained the world number two ranking in men’s javelin throw.
India’s Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was ranked second in the world in the latest World Athletics rankings. Neeraj, who won gold in men’s javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympics, was ranked second with a score of 1315, only behind Germany’s Johannes Vetter who leads the rankings with a score of 1396. Poland’s Marcin Krukowski (three), Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch (four) and Germany’s Julian Weber (five) complete the top five in the rankings.
Neeraj Chopra won India’s first Olympic gold
Neeraj Chopra won India’s first Olympic gold in athletics with a best attempt of 87.58m in the men’s javelin throw final. Neeraj’s attempt also contributed to India finishing with their best-ever medals tally of seven at the Olympics.
Neeraj Chopra was accorded a grand welcome upon his return to India and was felicitated along with some of India’s other medallists at the Tokyo Olympics by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and former Sports Minister Kiren Rijiu among others in a glittering ceremony in New Delhi.
Can’t let success go to my head
After his return to India, Neeraj Chopra said he “can’t let success go to my head”.
“My focus was on my game and if you manage to do well, sponsors and money follows. I want to invest them in the right direction and help those who are in need. The biggest thing for me is to keep my focus on my game and I can’t let success go to my head,” said Neeraj Chopra.
Feeling Lucky in Tokyo Olympics
“I feel lucky that I managed to end India’s wait for an Olympic medal in athletics. Not just in athletics, all the sports in which we participated, we did well this time at the Tokyo Olympics.”
His gold-winning feat at the Games was also listed as one of the 10 magical moments in athletics at the Tokyo Olympics by World Athletics.
