Neeraj Chopra wins silver in Oregon, Second Indian to win world championship medal
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Continuing his winning streak, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He registered 88.13m in his fourth attempt.
He started with a foul throw and went on to register 82.30m in his second throw. In his third attempt, he threw the javelin 86.37m. In his fourth attempt, he registered 88.13m and went from fourth to second place. However, his fifth and sixth attempts were again foul throws.
Neeraj Chopra has become the second Indian athlete and first ever Indian man to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. Long jumper Anju Bobby George won the bronze medal in 2003.
The other Indian javelin thrower, Rohit Yadav, finished in 10th place with a best throw of 78.72m.
Grenada's Anderson Peters won the gold medal with a best throw of 90.54m in his sixth attempt and defended his world title. Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch won bronze with a best throw of 88.09m and Germany's Julian Weber finished 4th with a best throw of 86.86m.
Chopra topped the Group A qualification round with a throw of 88.39m. In Group B, Peters topped with 89.91m. In the qualification round, Yadav scored 80.42m.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to congratulate Chopra on his historic win. He wrote: "A great accomplishment by one of our most distinguished athletes! Congratulations to Neeraj Chopra on winning a historic silver medal at the world championships. This is a special moment for Indian sports. Best wishes to Neeraj for his upcoming endeavours."
Defence minister Rajnath Singh tweeted that India is elated by the stupendous performance of the athlete. "His hard work, grit, and determination have yielded outstanding results."
Sports minister Anurag Thakur shared a video of his winning moment. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar wrote that Chopra's win will take Indian sports forward.
India has won another medal at the World Championship after 29 years.
India's first individual gold medallist at the Olympics, Abhinav Bindra also tweeted congratulations to the young athlete. He wrote: "You make us proud. Well done and the best for the rest of the season."
CEO of the Olympic Gold Quest Viren Rasquinha also wrote that it was an "incredible throw under immense pressure to get a historic silver." He also commented on Chopra's "ice cool temperament at the big stage."
Olympic freestyle wrestler Bajrang Punia, former captain of national hockey team PR Sreejesh, and Haryana's sports minister Sandeep Singh among others tweeted congratulations to Chopra.
