Neeraj, the Golden boy of India, hit his traps to win a gold medal for his motherland. The stage was ready and he scripted his success to the tee. Like what he did in Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj secured his spot in his second attempt. The golden arm launched the javelin to 88.17m at the National Athletics Championship Centre in Budapest, Hungary. With that, Neeraj became India’s first-ever gold medallist at the World Athletics Championship.
Three Indians in first six places: An exciting time for Indian athletics
Apart from Neeraj, DP Manu and Kishore Jena are other two Indians who have done well on the big stage. Though neither of them got a medal, Jena finished fifth with a throw of 84.77m and Manu secured the sixth spot with his career-best throw of 84.14m.
Long wait came to an end
Neeraj badly wanted a gold medal in the World Athletics event and he achieved it in style. His second throw went a few meters beyond the foul line and a few more could be added. The javelin thrower has carved an embellished career after winning gold in all major international events including Olympics (Tokyo Olympics in 2021), 2018 Asian Games, 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2016 U-20 World Championships and also 2022 Diamond League Title.
Another India-Pakistan match
Such is the rivalry between India and Pakistan that the tension built around the javelin throw event as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem also took part in the World Athletics Championship. Arshad came second with his season-best javelin throw of 87.72m in his third attempt.
India and Pakistan sharing the same platform for javelin throw made the match a more edge-of-the-seat, nail-biting affair. The rivalry is not limited to only political sphere and cricket but it has infected every single event where they are opponents. The Pakistani had a 90m plus throw at 2022 Commonwealth Games and Neeraj was definitely tensed.
The excitement was similar to any India-Pakistan cricket or hockey match, where tension grips everyone from players to fans, especially in the last five minutes. In this case, fans waited with bated breath till both players had their final throws. Arshad was visibly under pressure in his last attempt and finished about a five feet behind the foul line. The result was evident – 81.6m throw.
After his gold is secured, the golden boy reached out to the spectators clapping at the National Athletics Centre. He rounded off with an 83.98m throw. Surprisingly, Neeraj ended with a foul throw in his first attempt but came off with flying colours in the second one that earned him a gold medal. After the match, Neeraj credited his regular training for his gold-winning performance. He also added that engaging in visualization had helped him a lot as it made him create a mental picture. He insisted that both regular training and visualization had roles in his winning medals in fierce international competitions.
