P T Usha congratulated Neeraj Chopra for realising her unfinished dream today after 37 years.
Neeraj Chopra has won a Gold medal for India in the javelin throw event at Tokyo Olympics. The 23-year-old registered a best attempt of 87.58 to finish ahead of Czech Republic duo of Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely to clinch the gold medal.
It was India’s first gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics and also the country’s second individual gold medal in Olympic history after Abhinav Bindra’s heroics in Beijing 2008.
With Neeraj Chopra’s historic effort, he also took India’s medal haul to seven in the ongoing Games – the country’s highest ever, beating the tally of six medals won at the London Games in 2012.
Neeraj Chopra’s qualification show was one of the best performances by an Indian in the Olympics, as he finished ahead of gold-medal favourite and 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter of Germany. He was knocked out of contention after he failed to be in the top 8 after three throws.
Commenting on the achievement, India’s ace athlete P T Usha said he realised her unfinished dream. “He realised my unfinished dream today after 37 years. Thank you my son,” tweeted PT Usha.
A farmer’s son from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana who took up athletics to shed flab, Neeraj Chopra can script history by winning the elusive medal, which the likes of late Milkha Singh and P T Usha let it slip from their grasp in 1964 and 1984 editions.
Back home, his joint family, comprising 18 members, are standing behind him, though miles away. The screen to watch the match has been arranged by the Athletics Federation of India, informed Neeraj’s uncle Bheem Chopra.
Neeraj hails from a farmer’s family, where milk and ghee from the farm always flowed in the house when he was young. “Neeraj’s grandmother used to feed him both (milk and ghee) so much so that over time, he started putting on too much weight,” Bheem.
