Basking in Neeraj’s golden glory, Khandra village erupts in joy

All the nineteen members of Neeraj’s family, along with hundreds of residents of Panipat’s Khandra village, remained glued to a huge television screen installed outside his residence to watch his golden throw at Tokyo Olympics on Saturday

All the nineteen members of Neeraj’s family, along with hundreds of residents of Panipat’s Khandra village, remained glued to a huge television screen installed outside his residence to watch his golden throw at Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. And the entire village erupted in joy as soon as 23-year-old Arjuna Awardee’s javelin hit the ground covering a distance of 87.58 metres.

People watching javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal-winning performance at his native Khandra village in Panipat district on Saturday.

The atmosphere instantly turned festive as people started distributing sweets and dancing to the beats of drums. Neeraj’s parents — Satish Chopra and Saroj Bala — were soon drowned in garlands. “I am not getting words to explain the happiness; it’s the fruit of his hard work and dedication,” said his father Satish Kumar. “I remember the day when he started his daily practice at Panipat’s Shivaji Stadium which was 20km away,” he added.

“Not only me but the entire country is happy over the performance of my son. I am proud of my son,” said Neeraj’s mother Saroj.

Neeraj’s uncle Bhim Chopra, who supported him throughout his sporting journey, said, “His friend Jaiveer helped him to focus on Javelin. In 2016, he was very disappointed when he could not qualify for the Rio Olympics after throwing 82.37m, just short of the qualifying 83m. But we did not let him lose hope and he worked harder,” he added.

Neeraj belongs to a family of farmers and they live in a joint family of 19 members.

Neeraj had created history in 2016 by becoming the first Indian athlete to bag the title of world champion by clinching the gold medal at the U-20 World Championships in Poland.

He won a gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games with a throw of 82.23m and won another gold medal in Asian Athletics Championship in 2017 with a throw of 85.23meters. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he won a gold medal with his best effort of 86.47 meters. In 2018, he broke the national record at the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 87.43 meters.