Wrestler Bajrang Punia clinches Bronze as India finishes with its best ever Olympic performance in Tokyo
Tokyo: It was double delight for India on the final day of the Tokyo Olympic Games, when javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra clinched India’s first ever gold in athletics while wrestler Bajrang Punia bagged bronze medal in men’s freestyle 65 kg category. With seven medals to its kitty, India has by far clocked the best performance in this four-yearly event, surpassing their previous best that had a tally of six medals in the 2012 London Olympics.
Neeraj Chopra ended a century-old drought for the country in the track-and-field games category by winning the Gold medal. The 23-year-old athlete, hailing from the farming community located in Khandra village that borders Panipat in Haryana achieved this feat after his first throw got marked at 87.58 in the finals of the Javelin event.
In the individual category too, Neeraj is preceded only by Abhinav Bindra who was the first to win India an Olympic gold way back in 2008 Beijing Games.
Being only second in line to join the elite club of Indian Olympians winning individual gold medals, Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who is a junior commissioned officer from the ranks of the Indian Army, also happened to be the seventh Indian to win a medal in the current Tokyo Olympics.
Neeraj’s gold was the biggest feather in the cap of our Olympic contingent that had succeeded in winning two silvers and four bronze prior to the javelin final event.
President Ram Nath Kovind congratulated Neeraj Chopra and said, his feat will inspire our youth. “”Unprecedented win by Neeraj Chopra! Your javelin gold breaks barriers and creates history. You bring home first-ever track and field medal to India in your first Olympics. Your feat will inspire our youth. India is elated! Heartiest congratulations,” the President tweeted.
Neeraj is no newcomer to winning gold at international events. In 2018, he won the coveted first spot in the Asian games for India. Even prior to that in 2016, he became the first Indian to win a World title in track-and-field games in the Under-20 category.
Earlier, this year, the champion Javelin thrower opened his account with a gold medal in the Lisbon event at Portugal with his throw recording 83.18 metres.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia won the bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 65 Kg category at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 today. He defeated Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov 8-0 in the bronze medal match.
India’s medal winners in Tokyo Olympics 2020
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and Indians from all corners of the country congratulated Bajrang Punia for his achievement.
– Venkatesh Raghavan with inputs from Global Bihari Bureau
