Happy for first medal at WAC, says Neeraj Chopra

The Indian javelin thrower spoke to the media on the back of yet another historic achievement.

Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra continued his medal glut by clinching a historic silver medal in the World Athletics Championship in Eugene. The track and field athlete got second place on the podium behind Grenadian counterpart Anderson Peters.

Neeraj Chopra had the best throw of 88.13m which was enough to put him ahead of Jakub Vadlejch who came in a close third with a best throw of 88.09m. Vadlejch was the silver medallist at the Tokyo Olympics where Neeraj clinched a historic gold medal. The 24-year-old didn't have the best of starts by fouling on his first throw. He covered a sub-par 82.39m on his second attempt but gradually improved by gaining 86.37m in his third attempt before throwing the silver-clinching distance of 88.13m in his fourth attempt.

But despite his improved performance, Neeraj had to settle behind Anderson Peters who had a great night with distances of 90.21m, 90.46m, 87.21m, 88.11m, 85.83m, 90.54m. Anderson clinched the gold with his sixth and final attempt.

Owing to his achievement, Neeraj Chopra became only the second Indian since Anju Bobby George twenty years ago to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. It continues his unprecedented run of success in his still short international career where he has already won gold at the Asian Games, 2018 Commonwealth Games, the Tokyo Olympics and now the silver medal at the World Athletics Championships.

Chopra gives India a medal at World Athletics Championships

Post his achievement, the ace javelin thrower spoke to Sports Trumpet about his achievement and the feeling behind it. When asked about his feeling behind winning the silver medal, Neeraj Chopra sported a more content than a beaming face and replied "I feel very happy to have won this medal. The World Athletics Championships is a huge event when it comes to athletics. The level of competition is very high here and I would say it is more than the level of the Olympics."

Neeraj Chopra added "When I saw the competition, I knew that this year it would be very close. All the competitors were placed very close and that makes me really happy. I'm happy that the country has received a medal after a long time in athletics."

Neeraj also spoke of his happiness at an improved performance by the Indian athletic contingent. He mentioned, "I'm even happier that overall the Indian team has performed really well. Many of the athletes made it to the finals and performed well. This indicates a good start and I hope that all of them will continue to perform better in the upcoming competitions."

Having won a silver in the World Athletics Championships, Neeraj Chopra will now defend his gold medal from the last edition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

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