Neeraj Chopra - Sportsperson Of The Year

By winning India’s first gold medal in athletics and only its second individual gold in Olympics, Chopra gave the nation of 1.3 billion people the biggest high in a year fraught with challenges

- Suhani Singh

MILESTONES

Chopra set a new under-20 world record to win the U20 World Championships in Poland in 2016. The record throw of 86.48 m stands to date.

He is the first Indian javelin thrower to win a gold medal at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018.

In March 2021, broke his own mark to register a new national record with a throw of 88.07 metre.

Historically, Indians have not invested their energies and expectations in the Olympics. The near misses and dashed hopes, one individual gold medal in 20 editions and a team gold that dates back to 1980. With two days to go, India’s Tokyo 2020 campaign was heading the London 2000 Games way—six medals, none of them gold. That is until a 23-year-old athlete from Panipat in Haryana entered the arena and made history by winning India’s first gold medal in athletics. Not only did Chopra popularise javelin throw in the process but he showed that Indian athletes have the mental fortitude to deliver under tremendous pressure. He proved that it is possible for a non-cricketer to inspire, unite and enthral Indians.

Before Chopra’s herculean feat in Tokyo, weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu had overcome the disappointment of Rio 2016 to finally add an Olympic medal to her accomplishments. Two more women wowed. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain punched her way to a bronze and shuttler P.V. Sindhu became only the second Indian athlete to win consecutive Olympic medals, this time a bronze. At Rio, it was the women—Sindhu and Sakshi Malik (wrestling)—who saved India the blushes with two medals; in Tokyo, it was again women who scripted some of the most inspiring stories of 2021.