Decisive throw
Grenada's Peters defended his gold medal in the event, while Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic clinched the bronze.
That fourth throw was decisive as it helped Neeraj surpass the Czech thrower in the next round. But there was no catching Peters.
Man in form
He did so with one of the greatest ever javelin series, producing three throws beyond the 90M line to hold off the challenge from Neeraj and Olympic silver medalist Vadlejch.
Coming into the final, Neeraj was the man in form. The Army-man had broken his own national record with an effort of 89.94M while clinching a silver at the World Athletics (WA) sanctioned Diamond League meet at Stockholm in June.
Poster boy
At Oregon 2022, Neeraj had booked his spot in the finals with an attempt of 88.39M in his very first attempt in the qualifiers. All these years, a medal for India in athletics seemed to be a distant reality. In 11 months, Neeraj has changed that perception. First in Tokyo Olympics last year and now at the marquee event of WA at Oregon 2022.
"I've to congratulate Peters and Jakub," said the poster boy of Indian athletics, who felt relieved after having had a niggle in warm-up. "I didn't feel good during my first three throws. My warm-up wasn't good. I felt something in my groin during my throw but I think it's okay," added Neeraj.
Kudos champ!
At Tokyo, Neeraj had won Indian athletics' maiden gold and became just the second Indian to have won an individual gold in Olympics, after shooter Abhinav Bindra, who clinched the yellow metal at 2008 Beijing Games. And now at Oregon, he has become just the second medallist for India at the Athletics World Championships as his stocks keep growing.
"Throwing in this wind was also a learning experience. But we've the World Championships again next year, so I'll try to do better in Budapest," added Neeraj. Coming into the event Neeraj had set himself a target of throwing over 90M. Though he could not achieve that, his time will certainly come, with the next Athletics World Championships just a year away. But for the time being, we can sit back and raise a toast for Neeraj Chopra, who has raised the profile of Indian athletics at the global level. Kudos champ!