Neeraj Chopra ended India's long wait of 100 years when he claimed a historic first Olympic athletics gold medal for India at the Tokyo Games on Saturday.
If Chopra holds the trophy and pockets the US$30,000 prize money at the Prefontaine Classic, he will become only the third man to defend the DL overall title, though the format changed in 2017.
Neeraj ran in fast, did the crossover. The javelin flew out of his hands and he did not look towards the sector. He just knew he had bettered the first attempt. The moment the javelin left his hand, he knew he had done it.
His first throw of 88.39 metres earned him automatic qualification for the final.
World champion and season leader Anderson Peters of Grenada won the competition with a best throw of 90.31m which he came up with in this third attempt.
Neeraj Chopra scripted history in Tokyo on Saturday, winning the men's Javelin Throw and ending India's wait for an elusive medal in athletics at the Olympics.
Buoyed by a strong start to the season, Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is primed to clinch his maiden Diamond League podium finish in his first appearance in four years in the prestigious one-day meet in Stockholm on Thursday.
Philem Dipak Singh traces Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's rise to Olympic glory.
A summary of Saturday's Track and Field action at the Tokyo Olympics.
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