By Our Special Correspondent
Neeraj Chopra won India's first silver medal in athletics at the World Championships on Sunday. Legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George was the first Indian to win a medal – bronze – at the World Championships held in Paris in the 2003 edition.
24-year-old Neeraj Chopra, who entered the ring as a hot favourite, secured the medal by finishing second with a throw of 88.13 metres.
Neeraj did not get off to a good start as he started with a foul throw and finished fourth after three rounds with 82.39m and 86.37m. He regained his rhythm with a big fourth-round throw of 88.13m, his fourth career-best effort, to jump into second place, which he held until the end. His fifth and sixth throws were fouls.
The roar after his fourth try will never be forgotten by Indian sports fans. Defending champion Andersen Peters of Granada won gold with a throw of 90.54m, while Olympic silver medalist Jakub Wadlej of the Czech Republic took bronze with 88.09m.
Chopra topped the Group a qualification round and qualified for the final by finishing second behind Peters by sending his javelin 88.39m for the third best throw of his career. Peters topped Group B with an effort of 89.91m.
Another Indian player in the competition, Rohit Yadav finished 10th with a best throw of 78.72 meters. Rohit finished 11th with a best throw of 80.42 meters in the qualification round.
Neeraj Chopra won India's first gold in track and field at Tokyo Olympics last year. He is the second Indian to win an individual gold at the Olympics after shooter Abhinav Bindra at the 2008 Beijing Games.
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