Commonwealth Games: How Neeraj Chopra won javelin gold at Gold Coast

Neeraj Chopra’s gold-winning feats make him the jewel in the crown of Indian sports.

The javelin thrower from Panipat, Haryana has achieved tremendous success in recent years, growing from a teenage star to an Olympic and world champion.

Although the gold medal at Tokyo 2020 Olympics remains the highlight of Neeraj Chopra’s burgeoning career, he has consistently stood on top of the podium.

The Commonwealth Games 2018 was one such event that confirmed Neeraj Chopra’s status as the future of India in track and field.

Neeraj Chopra’s golden debut at Commonwealth Games 2018

Neeraj Chopra and his knack of creating history were on full display at the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia when he won the javelin throw gold medal.

Before making his debut at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, Neeraj Chopra was already a junior world champion and had begun to make a name for himself in the senior circuit as well.

The Panipat native was the first Indian world champion in athletics at any level when he claimed the U-20 World Championships title in 2016 with a junior world record-breaking throw of 86.48m.

In the same year, Neeraj claimed gold at the South Asian Games and followed it up with a top finish at the 2017 Asian Championships.

Neeraj Chopra, 20, was in scintillating form going into CWG 2018, winning all three events that season and consistently crossing the 80m mark.

With steady improvement in every competition, Neeraj Chopra achieved a season-best throw of 85.94m in March at the Federation Cup in Patiala – the last event before the big Games.

Neeraj Chopra’s CWG Gold Coast 2018 performance

The then 20-year-old Neeraj Chopra debuted at the Commonwealth Games 2018 as the top contender. And he lived up to his billing.

Neeraj’s very first attempt in the qualification round put him through to the final. The young Indian threw the spear at 82.42m to achieve the qualifying mark (78m) and finish fourth overall.

“I felt really good after I threw 80 in the qualifying round and felt confident of doing well in the final,” Neeraj Chopra said.

Of the 24 participants, 12 made it to the final round

With confidence on his side, Neeraj Chopra made a spectacular start to the final, reaching the gold medal position with his very first throw that touched 85.50m.

“It makes a lot of difference when you manage to get a first throw like that. It builds pressure on others,” Neeraj Chopra said.

The Indian fouled in the second effort and reached 84.78m in the third.

Neeraj Chopra’s best throw came in the fourth attempt when he hurled the spear to 86.47m, just 1 centimetre away from his then-personal best.

“In my desperation for that (breaking personal record), I tried so hard that I tumbled over in my last two attempts.”

All four valid throws from Neeraj Chopra crossed the 83m mark.

And so impressive was Neeraj Chopra that his worst throw in the final (83.48m) was still better than the best effort of silver medallist Hamish Peacock (82.59m). Anderson Peters (82.20m) came third.

There was another Indian in the final, Vipin Kasana, who finished fifth.

Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian javelin thrower to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal and the fourth Indian to win an athletics title at the Games after Milkha Singh (1958), Krishna Poonia (2010) and Vikas Gowda (2014).