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Updated September 5th, 2021 at 14:51 IST

Neeraj Chopra & Leander Paes swap their respective Olympic medals as mark of respect

Neeraj Chopra and Leander Paes had swapped their respective Olympic medals as a mark of respect when the two accomplished athletes had met each other recently

Reported by: Karthik Nair
Neeraj Chopra, Leander Paes
Image: Neeraj Chopra Twitter | Image:self
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Neeraj Chopra etched his name in history books when he struck a solid gold in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 Men's Javelin Throw Final last month as India's jinx of winning a medal in athletics ended after 100 years. At the same time, Neeraj Chopra also became the second Indian after Abhinav Bindra (2008) to win an individual Olympic gold medal.

Recently, Neeraj Chopra got a chance to meet another accomplished athlete Leander Paes who had also made history by winning an individual Olympic medal in lawn tennis. 

Neeraj Chopra meets Leander Paes 

Both Neeraj Chopra and Leander Paes swapped their respective medals as a mark of respect when the duo recently posed together. While Paes was seen holding Neeraj's Tokyo Olympics gold medal, Chopra held the tennis legend's bronze medal that he had won at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Neeraj Chopra had posted the picture on his official Twitter handle where he acknowledged the Indian tennis legend. In his tweet, Chopra said it was his pleasure to meet the winner of multiple tennis doubles Grand Slams but more importantly, getting an opportunity to touch that prized bronze medal that has inspired generations of young athletes.

"You won yours before I was even born and to see your enthusiasm and love for sport was infectious!", Chopra added.

Leander Paes is one of the tennis players who gave recognition to lawn tennis in India and also has several laurels to his name including an Olympics medal. Paes did manage a podium finish in the quadrennial event and to date continues to be the only player to have done so in the history of the game.

Coming back to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Leander Paes had qualified for the semi-finals of the men's singles category after edging past Pete Sampras and Richey Reneberg and was just two steps away from doing the unthinkable. However, a 7-6,6-3 loss to the then world number 1 and eventual gold medalist Andre Agassi meant that Paes was not eligible to compete in the gold medal match.

Paes then made up for it in the loser's final i.e. the bronze medal match by getting the better of Brazil's Fernando Meligeni 3-6,6-2,6-4 and won the third-biggest prize of the prestigious tournament. 

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Published September 5th, 2021 at 13:00 IST

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