New Delhi: After clinching maiden gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, Neeraj Chopra has dedicated his medal his medal to legend sports person Milkha Singh.
Speaking to media persons, Chopra said that he would have wanted to personally meet the legendary sprinter with the medal.
He also dedicated the gold to PT Usha and other Indian athletes who came close to winning an Olympic medal.
Speaking to the media, he said, “I wanted to break the Olympic record and overdid it because of that. The national anthem during the medal ceremony meant the world to me and I was about to cry. Even during the Olympics, I didn’t feel like I was competing in something new because of those competitions. I wasn’t under the pressure of competing with the rest of the javelin stars.”
“The most important thing this year was to compete at the international level and I told the federation about it, told the TOPS and the federation. The international competitions I went in were very important for me,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Haryana government has announced a cash reward of Rs 6 crore for Chopra while Anand Mahindra will be gifting the javelin star a brand new XUV 700 when he returns to India with his gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed Neeraj Chopra for winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
In a telephonic interaction with Neeraj, who dominated the rest of the field in the men’s javelin throw final at the National Stadium in Tokyo, PM Modi said that it is the 23-year-old’s hard work that has helped him achieve this milestone.
Notably, Chopra threw the javelin 87.03m in his first throw and bettered it with 87.58m but couldn’t go any further. Chopra managed four legitimate throws of 87.03m, 87.58m, 76.79m and 84.24 while his fourth and fifth throws were disqualified.
