India’s star Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is the nation’s big hope for its first track and field medal at the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In India, where the track and field category is still dawdling, Chopra has earned a name for himself. He first set a national record with a throw of 88.06 meters at the Asian Games and went on to break it in March this year, at the Indian Grand Prix 3 with a throw of 88.07.
The talented 23-year-old who hails from Panipat started his international career with a bang! In 2016, Neeraj became the World junior champion by breaking the world junior record of 86.48 meters.
After 2016, there was no looking back for the young athlete. He won the 2017 Asian Championship and went on to bag a Commonwealth Games Gold in 2018. After the legendary Milkha Singh, Chopra is the only Indian athlete to win gold at both events.
While he missed all of the major tournaments in 2019 owing to an elbow injury, Neeraj successfully cleared the Olympic qualification mark of 85m with a throw of 87.86mts, last year. His best is not good enough to guarantee gold but going by the performance of the years, one expects a miracle from Chopra. After all, he is India’s best bet for a track and field medal in Tokyo.