Neeraj Chopra – Quest for Gold, a Short Documentary

Neeraj Chopra – Quest for Gold

Neeraj Chopra – Quest for Gold, India’s wait for an elusive gold medal is finally over. Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra made history on Saturday at Tokyo Olympic 2020 by winning gold with an impressive best throw of 87.58 meters. It’s only the second individual Olympic gold medal in the country’s history after Abhinav Bindra shooting gold in Beijing in 2008. It’s also independent India’s first medal in a track-and-field event.

But not many know the real history behind this golden guy, how hard he trained for it, and how a chubby boy from a small village of Haryana made it to the world Olympic Podium. Presenting a small 6 minutes long documentary on Neeraj Chopra, this was a segment of a documentary shot for Tokyo Olympics 2021 for Sports Authority of India and Sony Pictures Network.

Chopra made his debut at the Olympics representing India at the 2020 Summer Olympics. On 4 August 2021, he was placed in Group A. Despite the effects of jet lag after flying to Tokyo from Sweden and a disrupted sleep schedule due to regular dope-control testing, Chopra topped his group and qualified for the final in the men’s javelin throw with a throw of 86.65 metres. Competing with more experienced and better-performing athletes, notably Johannes Vetter of Germany, Chopra’s strategy for the final, which he developed with his coach Bartonietz, was to rely on his speed and put pressure on the rest of the field with a powerful long throw.

As a result, Chopra won the gold medal in the final on 7 August with a throw of 87.58 m and became the first Indian Olympian to win a gold medal in athletics, and the first post-independence Indian Olympic medalist in athletics. He also became the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal after Abhinav Bindra, who won the gold medal in the men’s 10 m air rifle in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Chopra dedicated his win to sprinters Milkha Singh and P. T. Usha.

Video Courtesy: Sports Authority of India and Sony Pictures Network.