Neeraj Chopra clinches gold at French Athletics meet

India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at the Sotteville Athletics meet in France on July 17, 2018.

Chopra with a throw of 85.17m was way ahead of his competitors, including Moldova's Andrian Mardare (81.48m) and Lithuania's Edis Matusevicius (79.31m), who took the silver and bronze medal respectively.

The competitive field also included the 2012 London Olympics gold-medallist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, who could only manage to throw78.26m, finishing at the fifth position.

About Neeraj Chopra

• The 20-year-old Indian from Panipat had first made headlines when he won the gold medal in the 2016 World Junior Championship with a record throw of 86.48m.

• He, however, failed to qualify for the finals at the Rio Olympics in the same year.

• In April 2018, Chopra made the headlines yet again by winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

• He had improved on his season’s best with an effort of 86.47m in Gold Coast to become the country's first javelin-thrower to win a CWG gold.

• The winning distance covered by Chopra at the Sotteville Athletics meet, was however, less than what he had achieved to win the historic CWG gold.

• In May 2018, he shattered his own national record by clearing a distance of 87.43m at the Doha Diamond League, where he finished fourth.

• Chopra's next big test will be at the Asian Games, which is scheduled to be held from August 18 to September 2, 2018 in Indonesia.

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