India Bask in Budapest Bloom as Neeraj Chopra Secures Gold at World C'Ships

Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian gold medallist at the World Athletics Championships.

Prized Indian athlete, Neeraj Chopra earned pride for his nation yet again as he secured a gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships on Sunday, 27 August. With a throw of 88.17m, Neeraj became the only medallist for India in this edition of the competition.

The Olympic gold medallist fouled his first attempt – perhaps deliberately, considering it was an underwhelming throw – but then made a stellar comeback by recording 88.17m in his second attempt. The move helped him secure pole position in only the second round, and eventually, a place at the top of the podium.

This is India's first gold medal at the World Athletics Championships with Anju Bobby George claiming bronze in women's long jump at Paris in 2003 while Neeraj Chopra himself won a silver in the Oregon edition last year.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem secured the silver medal with a 87.82m throw, which also happens to be his season best effort. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch secured the last available position on the podium, with a throw of 86.67m.

Chopra, who usually aims to start with a big first throw and had done just that in the qualifying stage with a stunning 88.77 metre, opened with a foul on his first attempt in Sunday's final.

His next throw though straightaway catapulted him to the top of the standings as the 25-year-old Tokyo Olympics gold medallist hurled the spear to 88.17m to take the lead.

Germany's Julian Weber was placed second with 85.79m on his second attempt while Yakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic was placed third with 84.18m throw in his second attempt.

Chopra could manage only 86.32 metre in his third attempt while Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem jumped into the fray with a superb throw of 87.82 metre on his third turn. 

Nadeem, who had surgery on his shoulder earlier this year following an injury, started with a gentle loosener of 74.90m and followed that up with 82.81m before unleashing a rip-roaring 87.82 in his third turn, a season-best for the Pakistan thrower. 

India's D.P. Manu also came up with his best effort of the first half of the competition with 83.72m in his third attempt and was placed fifth while Kishore Kumar Jena came up with 82.82m in his second attempt to remain in seventh position.

Chopra could manage only an 84.62m throw in his fourth attempt while Nadeem came up with 87.15m while Julian Weber of Germany remained in the third position thanks to his 85.7 attempt.

Arshad Nadem made a final attempt in the sixth round with a big one but it was still short of what he wanted and Chopra sealed the gold medal.

I Wanted To Throw More Than 90m: Neeraj Chopra

Earlier in the competition, recorded his season-best throw of 88.77m, which earned him a direct qualification to the final. That performance also confirmed his participation at the Paris Olympics 2024.

"This was great. After the Olympic gold medal, I really wanted to win the World Championships. This is brilliant for the national team, but it was my dream to win gold at the world championships," Neeraj said following the conclusion of the event.

However, whilst soaking in the adoration, he also mentioned about his goal of crossing the 90m mark.

"I wanted to throw more than 90m tonight but it needs all parts of the puzzle to be there. I couldn't put it all together this evening. I wanted to throw more tonight. Maybe next time," he stated.

Despite Not Winning Medals, Jena & Manu Can Be Proud

Meanwhile, whilst the other two Indian participants in the men's javelin throw final – Kishore Jena and DP Manu – will not be returning with medals, they can be content with their performance.

Jena, who nearly missed the chance to compete owing to visa-related troubles, recorded his personal best figure of 84.77m. The 27-year-old from Odisha finished fifth in the standings.

Meanwhile, youngster DP Manu, who won a silver medal at the Asian Athletics Championships earlier this year, finished just beneath Jena. The Karnataka lad registered 84.14m – a significant improvement on his Asian Championships figure of 81.01m.