Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Neeraj Chopra gives a moon-landing moment for Indian Sports

PT Usha came close, so did Milkha Singh and Anju Bobby George. But a medal in athletics was something that remained out of reach. However, on a7 August 2021, everything changed. 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra ensured that the nation stood still while the Indian national anthem played at the Olympic stadium in Tokyo. It is India's first individual gold since Abhinav Bindra's historic feat in 2008 and also the first Olympic Gold for India in athletics.

The tall lad from Panipat in Haryana burst out on the international scene with a gold and a World Junior record in the World Under 20 Championships. In the next two years, Chopra reached greater heights as he collected gold in the Asian Championships, Commonwealth Games and even Asian Games and smashed the national record many times over.

But in 2019, Neeraj's progress came to a grinding halt as he underwent elbow surgery. It was a massive setback as the Hulk from Haryana needed months of rehabilitation and training before he could get back on the field.

Neeraj had to change his technique to avoid injury. He took time to return to his natural throwing distance of 80+ metres. His immediate target was to qualify for Tokyo and Neeraj did that.
After qualification, he worked even harder to ensure that he could fight for a medal.

Right till the final, Neeraj worked tirelessly in the shadow of Johannes Vetter, the German who was tipped to win the Gold. The qualifying rounds saw Neeraj Chopra activate his beast mode and he led the qualification with a whopping throw of 86.65 metres. He pipped Vetter but Neeraj needed more to win the Gold.

In the final, Chopra had a different approach. While most top athletes aim to start with moderate intensity, the 23-year-old went out all guns blazing. His first throw of 87.03 m lay the marker for the rest of the pack. He improved and clocked 87.58 metres in his second attempt.

87.58, a number that will probably be remembered for generations and will become part of modern-day folklore. The pressure and weight of expectations of a billion-plus Indians didn't affect the javelin thrower as his second throw was enough to win him the top spot on the podium.

His family, the immediate ones, and his extended family of 1.3 billion Indians cried in unison as they celebrated one of India's biggest sporting moments. Such moments don't come often as they are a result of the hard work put in by not just the athletes but also the coaches, support staff and the families.

If Abhinav Bindra's gold in 2008 was a watershed moment in Indian sporting history, then Neeraj's gold in 2021 is definitely A moon-landing moment.