Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated young javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra for smashing the junior world record en route to a gold medal at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
The 18-year-old Haryana lad threw the spear to a stupendous distance of 86.48m on the penultimate day of competitions last night to set a new junior world record and become the first ever Indian to hold a world record in athletics (junior or senior).
Chopra also broke the existing national senior record of 82.23m. His achievement was all the more stunning since it bested the record held by gold medal winner Keshrom Walcott in London Olympics (84.58m). Congratulating Chopra on his remarkable feat, Sports Minister Vijay Goel announced a cash award of Rs 10 lakh.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Rathore also patted the young athlete on the back for his achievement.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar too congratulated him on social media.
(With Inputs From PTI.)
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