Neeraj Chopra’s family elated as he qualifies for javelin throw finals

It was a great beginning of the day on Wednesday for the family of Panipat’s Neeraj Chopra as he qualified for the Tokyo Olympics javelin throw finals with first attempt of 86

It was a great beginning of the day on Wednesday for the family of Panipat’s Neeraj Chopra as he qualified for the Tokyo Olympics javelin throw finals with first attempt of 86.65m.

Neeraj’s family watching live telecast of his performance at his native village on Wednesday morning. (HT Photo)

There were celebrations in the Khandra village, where Neeraj lives in a joint family consisting of 19 members. According to his family, right before his performance in the early morning, the villagers remained glued to their television sets to watch his performance.

Soon after his victory, people gathered at his residence and celebrated the win by distributing sweets.

His father Satish Kumar, who is a farmer, said, “I feel proud of my son. We are confident that he will win a gold medal for the country. Now we are waiting for his performance in the finals on Saturday.”

“I’m happy with the achievement of my son. He has brought laurels for the country again,” said his mother Saroj Bala.

Neeraj’s uncle Bhim Chopra said he was confident that he will win his first medal in his first Olympics as took just a few seconds to make it to the finals.”

“Not just the family, the entire country is waiting for his next performance on Saturday,” he added.

India’s medal contender and Arjuna awardee Neeraj created history in 2016 by becoming the first Indian athlete to bag the title of world champion by clinching gold at the U-20 World Championships in Poland.

He won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games with a throw of 82.23m and won another gold in Asian Athletic championships in 2017 with a throw of 85.23m.

In 2018 Commonwealth Games, he won a gold medal with his best effort of 86.47m. Again, in 2018, he broke the national record at the Doha Diamond League with a throw of 87.43m.

Neeraj could not qualify for the Rio Olympics 2016 as he lost the competition scoring 82.37m, falling short of the required 83m by just 63cm.

He has completed his graduation from Kurukshetra University and is posted as a subedar in the army.