Neeraj Chopra’s remarkable achievement is resonating with every Indian, and a handful from the cricket fraternity have expressed their congratulatory messages on social media.
Neeraj Chopra continued his imperious run as he became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships. The 25-year-old, who has previously won an Olympics gold, achieved the feat in the latest edition held in Budapest, Hungary with an 88.17m throw.
Neeraj had earlier qualified for the Paris Olympics with an 88.77m throw in the qualification round, which was also his season’s best.
Cricket fraternity celebrated Neeraj’s victory
Neeraj’s incredible feat is being celebrated by every Indian and few from the cricket fraternity took to social media to convey their greetings.
Sharing a video of Neeraj’s gold medal throw, former India opener Virender Shewag in his own humorous style tweeted: “Fenkon toh aise fenko ki chaar log bole Kya fekta hai yaar.”
“The mega run continues,” he added highlighting Neeraj’s incredible run since bursting on to the world stage.
Sehwag’s opening partner Sachin Tendulkar also hailed the 25-year-old’s effort, calling the moment a “historic milestone for Indian sports.”
The Pathan brothers – Yusuf and Irfan – also joined the bandwagon, with the former congratulating the javelin star for “raising the bar yet again.”
Neeraj on what more he looks to achieve
Neeraj has now won a gold medal in every big event that he is a part of. But when asked to the Indian what more he looks to achieve, Neeraj had a very simple answer.
“There is a saying that throwers have no finish line. The best thing is that we have our javelin. We can always push ourselves. I may have won a lot of medals but the motivation is to throw farther and farther,” Chopra said during a virtual interaction.
“By winning these medals, I should not think that I have achieved everything. I will work harder, push myself harder to win more medals and bring more laurels for my country. If other Indians join me on the podium next time, that will be great,” he said.
Other Indians in competition
Kishore Jena (84.77m) and DP Manu were the other Indians in fray. They finished fifth and sixth respectively, with Jena’s best attempt touching 84.77m, and Manu throwing 84.14m.
“Kishore Jena and DP Manu also did very well (finished fifth and sixth). Our athletics is growing. But we have to do a lot of work also. I spoke to Adille sir (AFI president) about the Mondo tracks here and hoping that we will also have this in India just like here. We will do even better in coming years,” said Chopra.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem finished second with a season’s best throw of 87.82m, while Jakub Vadlejch (86.67m) of Czech Republic finished third.
Disclaimer: Except for the headline and synopsis, this story has been taken from the HT News Service