Neeraj Chopra won gold medal in men’s javelin throw in Tokyo Olympics

Neeraj Chopra created history by becoming the second Indian to win an individual gold medal in Olympics after shooter Abhinav Bindra.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

Neeraj is the first Indian in over 120 years, and the first athlete from independent India, to win an Olympic medal in a track-and-field discipline.

Neeraj won the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event with a throw of 87.58m in his second attempt.

The only medal that India had won in track-and-field events was back in 1900 when British-Indian Norman Pritchard had won two silver medals in Paris.

The International Olympic Committee still credits Norman Pritchard’s medals to India though various research, including the records of then IAAF (now World Athletics), showed that he had competed for Great Britain.