From Panipat to Olympic Podium: Neeraj Chopra's Journey to Gold

The Big Story Podcast on Neeraj Chopra's gold medal win at Tokyo Olympics. Image used for representation only.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Right after the javelin left his hand in his second attempt, Neeraj Chopra knew he had thrown a big one, as he raised his arms in triumph while the spear was still in the air.

After 121 years, independent India has finally secured an Olympic gold medal in track and field. Chopra, 23, is the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal after Abhinav Bindra won it at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Chopra was regarded as one of India’s best medal prospects at the Olympics and his very first throw indicated exactly that. Chopra was in the lead at 87.03 meters, which confidently placed him on top of the leaderboard from Round 1.

No other athlete in the event came even close to his mark. His gold winning throw of 87.58 meters was nearly a meter ahead of the runner up.

This was Chopra’s first appearance at the Olympics but his preparation for it began in 2016, when he broke the U-20 world junior record for javelin. However, the preparation has not been easy since it was marred by a few injuries and also the COVID pandemic.

In today’s episode, we celebrate the man of the hour Neeraj Chopra’s historic Olympic win, his career trajectory and its significance. Tune in!