Athletics Federation of India's (AFI) Planning Committee on Tuesday announced that they will host javelin throwing competitions every year on August 7 to honour Neeraj Chopra, who won a Gold medal in Tokyo Olympics 2020. This was announced by its Chairman Lalit Bhanot.
"Athletics Federation of India's planning committee has decided to further promote javelin throwing and will hold competitions every year throughout the country on August 7 as Neeraj Chopra won the gold in Tokyo on this day," Bhanot said in a felicitation program organised for Neeraj Chopra by the AFI.
India's long and agonizing wait for a first Olympic athletics gold medal ended on August 7 when Neeraj Chopra, the son of a farmer, won the men's javelin at the Tokyo Games.
It took just one throw on a balmy Tokyo night from the 22-year-old to start the world's second-most populous country dreaming of an end to the years of pain.
His javelin flew into the bright lights of the stadium and landed after covering a distance of 87.03 metres – enough to give him the lead.
Brimming with confidence, Chopra sent his second attempt even further to 87.58m, cementing his position and sending 1.35 billion people back home into delirious joy.
Before Chopra, India only had one individual Olympic gold medal winner in Abhinav Bindra, who won the 10-meter air rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Games.