Budapest, Hungary, August 27, 2023: Neeraj Chopra won a historic gold medal for India in the men’s javelin at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday, August 27.
Olympic champion Chopra became the first Indian to win a World Athletics title, throwing 88.17 metres to beat Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who took silver with a season’s best of 87.82m. Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic won the bronze with 86.67m.
Chopra, 25, who had to settle for the silver medal at last year’s world championships in Oregon, United States, said: “It was my dream to win gold at the world championships.
“This has been a great championship for India and I am proud to bring another title to my country,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
The only other Indian medal winner at the World Athletics Championships came in Paris in 2003 when Anju Bobby George took bronze in the women’s long jump.
Chopra secured the gold medal with his first legal throw of the evening – on his second attempt – to become the first Asian to win gold in the men’s javelin.
Chopra, who has 6.3 million followers on Instagram, believed he could have done more. “I don’t think I am the best thrower here. I wanted to throw more than 90m but it needs all parts of the puzzle to be there. I couldn’t put it all together this evening. Maybe next time.”
India and Pakistan are fierce sporting rivals and another chapter in their long history unfolded in Budapest as Chopra and Nadeem went head to head for gold.
Nadeem was competing in his first event this season following elbow and knee surgery. The Pakistani won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Their rivalry is set to resume at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China next month.