Srinagar: India’s star Olympic medallist, Neeraj Chopra on Sunday created history as he secured India’s only second ever medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
The Tokyo Olympic gold medallist bagged silver medal in the men’s javelin final with a throw of 88.13m in his fourth attempt which helped him get a podium finish.
It is India’s second medal in the World Championships in 29 years, after Anju Bobby George’s bronze medal in 2003.
Speaking to SAI media, Neeraj stated, “I’m feeling really great today to have won a silver medal for the country. Next year again, we have the World Championships and the aim will be to do better there. A big thanks to SAI, the federation and the government who have supported us and given us a foreign coach and sent us abroad for training. I hope in every sport, we keep getting support and we make more progress”.
The 24-year-old also explained that the conditions at the venue ‘were not good’ and the ‘wind speed was too high’. He also went on to laud gold medallist Anderson Peters and lauded his ‘huge effort’. “While conditions were not good and the wind speed was too high, I was confident I would perform well. I am satisfied with the result, I am happy I was able to win a medal for my country. It might have looked easy but Anderson must have put in a huge effort to cross 90 metres. He is world lead this year, throwing very good throws, several above 90 meters. I am happy he has worked so hard. This is good for me too, I have good competition”, he said.
“I didn’t feel pressured by the fact that I am an Olympic champion. I believed in myself even after the third throw. I made a comeback and won silver, it felt good. I will try to change the colour of the medal next time”, he further added.