'India shines brighter': Sports fraternity elated as Neeraj Chopra clinches Gold at Tokyo

Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra on Saturday, August 7, scripted history as he won India's first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and ended the nation's 100-year-long wait of winning a medal in athletics in the mega-event. Chopra threw a distance of 87.58m to win the gold medal and shock the athletic world. India's sporting fraternity was quick to congratulate the 23-year-old from Khandra village near Panipat, Haryana for his historic win.

The messages come pouring in

Former Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra responded with a heartfelt message for the youngster saying that he was "extremely proud" of him.

Indian track and field legend PT Usha was emotional and said that Chopra realised her "unfinished dream" of winning at the Olympics.

Former captain of the country's national hockey team, Viren Rasquinha called Chopra a "legend" in his tweet.

Indian shooter and former Olympic bronze medallist Gagan Narang thanked Chopra for giving the nation joy and inspiring everyone.

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir said that Neeraj Chopra's arm represented the strength of 1.3 billion people.

Harsha Bhogle claimed that winning the gold for India was a "moon-landing moment."

Anil Kumble was also part of the congratulatory messages and so was Mithali Raj who said that she could not get over the moment.

Former Indian batsman and legend Yuvraj Singh also expressed his joy by tweeting.

MC Mary Kom chimed in saying that it was a historic medal.

Wrestler Sakshi Malik was wowed by Chopra's inspiring performance.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist PV Sindhu congratulated Chopra.

Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar wrote in Hindi "Neeraj has made his javelin reach the sun."

How Chopra made the country "shine brighter"

Chopra brought his A-game from the first round itself. In the first round, Neeraj Chopra broke his qualification record and his throw was 87.03 m, the second throw was 87.58m, and the third throw was 76.79m. Neeraj Chopra's second throw moved him to the second round. In the second round, the first two throws from Chopra were foul throws and the final one was around 84 m.

Czech Republic throwers Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) and Vitezslav Vesely (85.44m) took the silver and bronze respectively.

Chopra came into the final as a medal contender after topping the qualification round on Wednesday with a stunning first-round throw of 86.59m. But only a few would have thought he would bludgeon his way to gold in such a dominant fashion at the grandest of stages.

Not only did he win India's first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and ended his nation's century-long wait of winning a medal in athletics but he also became the second-ever individual athlete to win a gold medal for India at the mega-event. Shooter, Bindra was the first individual athlete who won a gold medal for India. Bindra had won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

(Image Credits: @Olympics - Twitter)