Neeraj Chopra's top 3 performances ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics
Neeraj Chopra has become one of the biggest names in Indian sports in recent years, reaching star status that has been well deserved. Since first picking up the javelin, Chopra has broken many records and etched his name as one of India's greatest athletes.
The Haryana-born athlete has consistently performed at various levels, winning medals aplenty at national, continental, and world levels. He rose to prominence at the National Junior Athletics Championships in 2021, where he clinched his first junior national gold by settling the new national record with a 68.40m effort.
Two years later, Chopra picked his first medal on the international stage when he won the silver medal at the Youth Olympics Qualification in Bangkok. Later the same year, he broke the 70m for the first time at the senior nationals.
Since then, the 26-year-old has emerged victorious in almost every competition he has participated in, including the Summer Olympics. With the 2024 Paris Games less than two months away, here is a look at Chopra's three best performances.
#3 Neeraj Chopra clinches Asian Games gold
Neeraj Chopra went into the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta as one of the medal favorites thanks to his victory at the Commonwealth Games earlier that year.
Despite the weight of expectations, he performed spectacularly, recording an 88.06m throw to clinch the gold medal. It was a historic moment for India, as Chopra became the first Indian to win a gold medal in javelin throw at the Asian Games.
The throw also saw him improve his own (then) national record of 87.43m. Such was the magnitude of his performance that China's Liu Qizhen, who won the silver medal, was nearly 6m beyond Chopra's best effort.
At the following edition of the Asian Games in China, Chopra successfully defended his crown with an 88.88m effort.
#2 First Indian to win World Athletics Championships gold medal
Neeraj Chopra entered the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest as the World No. 1 and produced a performance that backed up his ranking.
Despite starting with a foul, his 88.17m effort on his second attempt was enough to clinch the top spot on the podium. The two-time Asian Games champion's other four efforts were 86.32m, 84.64m, 87.73m, and 83.98m.
With the win, Chopra became the first Indian athlete to secure a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships, a year after clinching the silver medal at the event in Eugene.
#1 Olympic glory in Tokyo
With splendid performances in events worldwide under his belt, Neeraj Chopra entered the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as one of India's biggest medal prospects.
In the Land of the Rising Sun, the 26-year-old did not disappoint as he clinched the gold medal to become the first Indian track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics. He is also only the second Indian to win an Olympic gold medal after Abhinav Bindra.
Chopra registered a best throw of 87.58m, which was enough to see him emerge victorious ahead of the Czech Republic's pair of Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) and Vitezslav Vesely (85.44m).