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Star Indian athlete and India’s ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday night (June 24) clinched a gold medal at the 64th Ostrava Golden Spike meet in Czech Republic. Competing for the first time at the prestigious athletics event, Chopra secured the top finish with a throw of 85.29 metres.
While the Indian athlete was third after the second round, where he threw a 83.45m after he opened with a foul attempt, he jumped to the top spot with his brilliant third round effort of 85.29m. Moreover, with a 85m throw, he also became the only athlete on the night to breach that mark.
Thereafter, he recorded throws of 82.17m and 81.01m in his next two attempts and finished with a foul in his final attempt. While Chopra secured the gold, South Africa’s Douw Smit finished second with his best of 84.12m, whereas Grenada’s Anderson Peters claimed the third place with a throw of 83.63m, which came in his very first throw of the day.
Neeraj Chopra continues his brilliant season; joins Jan Zelezny in list of winners
The Haryana-born athlete with his gold medal finish, continued to impress. Moreover, he continued to dominate the year with series of brilliant performances which include he strong showing at the Doha Diamond League in May, where he crossed the 90m-mark for the second time in his career, but finished second. He followed it up with a commanding finish at the Paris Diamond League last week and has now secured his second straight title with the Ostrava win.
Moreover, the Ostrava win was even more special for Neeraj as he joined the list of winners which includes his coach and world-record holder, Jan Zelezny, who hurled his spear to 94.64m in 1996. The Indian athlete will next be seen in action at the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025, which is scheduled to be held on July 5 in Bengaluru after getting postponed initially.
