Tokyo, 7th August 2021. India wins its first ever athletics medal at the Olympics – and a GOLD at that! Narrow bronze medal misses by Milkha Singh and PT Usha were the best we’d seen before this.
Congratulations to NEERAJ CHOPRA, the boy who dreamt big! Talent along with hard work, sacrifices and incredible coaches. Just 23. Strong, calm and confident enough to carry through the expectations of a medal hungry nation.
Nothing is final till it’s final, but those who watched the javelin event would pretty much say that Neeraj had it wrapped up from the qualifying stage. In his very first Olympics, and without the pressure of being the first ranked or the favourite, he topped in the qualifying and he stayed on top right through the final.
Can’t imagine the reception that awaits the golden boy and everything else that is in store for him. Not to mention the hundreds of Neerajs at roll calls in a few years from now!
Javelin is different kind of event. To practice, you need the javelin (the spear), the space for the run-up and empty space for the spear to get airborne and land. Did it in college and even won some medals. Throwing it is quite a fun thing to do, like what we see in medieval times, but much caution is needed. Imagine if you are in the way of the flying spear! Takes me back to school days when one of our friends was crossing the field when the girls were practicing. As luck would have it, the metal head of the javelin missed her vitals and landed right at the back of her thigh. Ouch! While we get all enthusiastic about throwing javelins now, we will do well to take care.
The winning throw
The hard work
The success
Those who were watching the finals and wondering why many of the throws in the final were fouls, read this interesting article that explains.
Olympic Javelin Throwers Are Great Athletes, So Why Do They Deliberately Foul?
All pictures are from social media.
Now for a South Indian laugh…
arathimy 