Neeraj Chopra won the first gold medal for India at the World Athletics Championships, and Arshad Nadeem’s second-place result gave Pakistan their first-ever medal in the competition. Sports fans from the subcontinent were treated to an electrifying competition in the men’s javelin final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Monday as they excitedly anticipated the India-Pakistan cricket match in the Asia Cup. The intense competition between Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem had fans on the edge of their seats, culminating in both players making history.
In a nail-biting encounter, Neeraj surged ahead to claim the gold medal after an initial foul attempt. His remarkable throw of 88.17 meters in his second attempt secured his position at the top. Arshad Nadeem, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, overcame a slow start and put up a strong challenge with his season-best throw of 87.82 meters in the third attempt, securing the second spot. The two athletes maintained their dominance throughout the competition, with Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic taking the bronze with a throw of 86.67 meters.
After Neeraj’s historic gold medal victory, he and Nadeem shared a heartwarming hug. Later, as Neeraj and Jakub posed with their respective flags for the customary photos, Nadeem was missing from the frame. In a truly gracious gesture, Neeraj invited Nadeem to join them, and the two athletes stood side by side with the Indian flag behind them.
This marked the first occasion when India had three participants in the final, with Kishore Jena securing fifth place with a best throw of 84.77 meters and DP Manu finishing in sixth place with a best throw of 84.14 meters. With this win, India achieved a complete set of medals, with Neeraj holding two. His previous accomplishment was a silver medal at the previous year’s World Championships. Before Neeraj’s two medals, Anju Bobby George was India’s last medalist, earning a bronze in the women’s long jump event at the 2003 World Championships.
With this victory, Neeraj Chopra became an Olympic champion and the reigning gold medalist at the World Championships, joining the ranks of the legendary shooter Abhinav Bindra. Bindra had clinched the World Championships title at 23 and secured Olympic gold at 25. Neeraj also became the third javelin thrower in history to simultaneously hold the Olympic and World Championships titles, following the achievements of Jan Zelezny from the Czech Republic and Andreas Thorkildsen from Norway.
