More than half a century after Milkha Singh looked back for a fraction of a second and 37 years after PT Usha forgot to dip at the finish line resulting in heart-breaking fourth-place finishes, the glorious flight of Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gave the country its first-ever track and field medal, a gold.
Chopra’s speed on the runway, the wide block, long pull of the throwing arm, wonderful alignment of the spear with his motor movements and balance came together on the day it mattered most as he was the supreme thrower at the Olympic Stadium. The Indian looked relaxed in a white headband and fluidly threw 87.03 metres in his first attempt. Chopra’s turn was second on the roster for the first three rounds (after which the bottom four get eliminated) but it was clear he was the man to beat.
He looked back at his coaching staff in the stands and lifted his arms even before his second throw could land. It was recorded at 87.58 metres, which was to be the best in the final. Chopra being way ahead of the field was not the biggest surprise.
By the end of the first three throws, the contemporary star in men’s javelin and the favourite to win gold, Germany’s Johannes Vetter was out. Looking displeased with the runway, Vetter, a man who has made 90-metre-plus throws look routine, never got close to his best. After a first attempt of 82.52 metres, he turned over his ankle and slipped in his next throw. His third throw, like the second, was also a foul.
It was ironic that the German bowed out even as two of his countrymen, biomechanics expert Dr Klaus Bartonietz and coach Uwe Hohn were in Chopra’s corner watching him out-class the field.
Once Vetter exited with Chopra taking the early lead, the rest of the field was fighting for silver and bronze. Chopra dropped to 76.79 metres in his third throw and fouled the fourth and fifth but had the historic gold almost in the bag by then. On the final attempt, he went all out to register 84.24 metres.
Now 74 years after Independence, Indian athletes won’t feel like outsiders when they walk into an Olympic Stadium again. Being an ‘Olympian’ won’t matter as much as it did before Chopra’s medal. The bar has been set higher. Grassroot coaches have a fresh story which ends on a happy note.
Milkha and Usha remain giants who inspired generations of athletes to aspire to a precious medal.
But with one gigantic throw into the Tokyo night sky, Chopra took the sport to new heights. (I.E.)
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