"The greatest Indian athlete"- Indian Cricket fraternity hails Neeraj Chopra's historic achievement of winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics

Neeraj Chopra scripted history at the Tokyo Olympics by becoming the first Indian athlete to win the gold medal at the event. With his stupendous efforts, he also ended India's 13 year-long wait to capture a gold medal in the Olympics.

Abhinav Bindra was the last Indian to win the prestigious gold medal for India. Bindra achieved the feat in shooting during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Coming to his performance today, the 23-year old Neeraj Chopra began the final with an incredible first throw of 87.03m to set the tone for the rest of the contest. None of the other competitors could better that until the conclusion of the event.

Neeraj Chopra himself surpassed that and recorded 87.58m to secure India's first-ever gold medal in athletics at the Olympics.

With his awe-inspiring win, Javelin champion Neeraj Chopra won billions of Indian hearts and made them proud with his memorable achievement. Several Indian cricketers took to social media to shower their much-deserved appreciation towards India's second individual gold medalist in Olympic history.

Messages of congratulations pour in for Neeraj Chopra from the Indian Cricket fraternity

Neeraj underwent surgery in 2019 for an injury, making his achievement even more remarkable

In May 2019, Neeraj Chopra faced a major setback as has to undergo surgery for an injury issue. After undergoing surgery, the javeline gold medalist said:

After finishing rehabilitation, he made a comeback into the field and worked extremely hard for the Olympics. Two years later, he has rounded off his comeback journey with a monumental triumph at the Tokyo Olympics.

India's performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics is their best-ever overall at the event so far. They have won a total of 7 medals, including 4 bronze medals, 2 silver medals, and 1 gold medal. It is one more than their six medals tally in the 2012 Olympics.

About the author

Balakrishna has been a cricket writer at Sportskeeda for almost seven years. A sport that he has been following and playing since he was eight, Balakrishna enjoys the intensity of the sport, skills and strategies applied to get a result out of nowhere, and the thrill that it gives. He also played as a medium pace bowling all-rounder in four inter-college tournaments, winning twice.

Balakrishna’s all-time favorite cricketers are Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma. He admires Sachin’s stellar performances against legendary bowlers, along with his discipline and humility. Meanwhile, he is a big fan of how Rohit turned around his initial struggles to build a successful career.

He avidly supports Team India and 2016 IPL winners SunRisers Hyderabad. The first World Cup that Balakrishna ever saw was the 2003 World Cup, when Australia comprehensively triumphed over India in the final.

While working, he ensures he only uses reliable sources and provides relevant, ethical, and accurate information. When not working, Balakrishna enjoys playing table tennis and reading non-fiction books.

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