One of India's greatest athletes, Anju Bobby George congratulated Neeraj Chopra on winning the gold medal. She asked Neeraj to show her the gold medal and was absolutely delighted on the javelin thrower's achievement.
"Congrats! I am really proud of you," said visibly delighted Anju. Neeraj replied, "Aap sabhi senior athletes hamari prerna hai. Aur sabhi ke mehnat ko ham kafi respect karte hai. Kyuki aap sabhi ne India ke liye jo kiya hai aur ham sab aapki kadamo pe chal rahe. Aur koshish kar rahe hai ki ham better karte jaye aur aage aane wali generation athletics mai acchi ho. (All the senior athletes are inspiring. We respect your hard work and we are following your footsteps. We are trying to get better and hope that the future Indian generations are better in athletics.)
Neeraj Chopra won Independent India's first medal in a track and field event. Previously, Milkha Singh and PT Usha came agonisingly close to winning a medal when they finished 4th.
"I am really proud that you did better than us. Its a gold! We could hear the national anthem in the central stadium and beyond that we couldn't ask for anything more," said Anju Bobby George who finished 5th with personal best score of 6.83 at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the long jump event.
"We all are waiting for your return. We will be there at the airport to receive you," added the legendary athlete.
Anju Bobby George also won the gold medal at the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
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