Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday with the best throw of 88.13m.
After long jumper Anju Bobby George, who won bronze in 2003, Neeraj Chopra is now the second Indian and the first Indian man to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.
The 24-year-old Chopra started with a foul throw and, on his second attempt, recorded 82.39 metres.
His third attempt, when he threw the javelin 86.37 metres, showed improvement.
He was still not supposed to win a medal, then his fourth career-best throw of 88.13 metres in the fourth round helped him regain his rhythm and move into second place.
His fifth and sixth attempts were foul throws.
Meanwhile, Anderson Peters of Grenada won home the gold with a best throw of 90.54 metres.
Peters’ first throw was 90.21 metres, and his second attempt was 90.46 metres better.
In his sixth attempt, he then recorded his best throw.
With a best throw of 88.09 metres, Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic won bronze and Julian Weber of Germany finished 4th with a throw of 86.86 metres.
