Neeraj Chopra made history once more as he won silver in the javelin throw final today, becoming just the second Indian and first male track and field athlete to do so.
Chopra, 24, who entered the championship as a strong medal favourite, recorded a best throw of 88.13 metres to place second.
Anju Bobby George, a great long jumper, became the first Indian to win a medal at the World Championships in 2003 in Paris, taking home a bronze.
Chopra got things started with a foul throw and finished the first three rounds with 82.39 and 86.37 metres. He regained his rhythm with a strong throw in the fourth round—88.13 metres, his fourth career-best effort—which propelled him into second place, which he retained all the way to the finish. His throws number five and six were fouls.
While Olympic silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic grabbed the bronze with 88.09m, defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada won gold with a best throw of 90.54m.
Chopra, who placed first in Group A and advanced to the final in second place behind Peters, did so by tossing his spear 88.39 metres, which was his third-highest throw in his career. Peters had won Group B with a distance of 89.91 metres.
Rohit Yadav, the only Indian competing, placed 10th overall with a best throw of 78.72 meters. With a best throw of 80.42 meters, Rohit placed 11th overall in the qualification round.
The 21-year-old Indian won silver at the National Inter-State Championships last month after setting a season’s and personal best of 82.54m.
Chopra had won the first athletics gold for India at the Tokyo Olympics the previous year. He is only the second Indian, after shooter Abhinav, to have won an individual gold in the Olympics.
