Neeraj Chopra becomes 1st Indian to set world record in athletics

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra created history by becoming the first Indian athlete to become a world champion at any level when he won a gold medal at the U-20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on Saturday evening.

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Chopra created a new U-20 world record by throwing the javelin a distance of 86.48m. The 18-year-old from Khandra village in Haryana’s Panipat district broke the old mark of 84.69 metres held by Latvian Zigismunds Sirmais by nearly two metres

This is also the first time an Indian has won a gold at any World Athletics Championships.

"I would like to improve by performance. If I had qualified for Olympics, my joy would have been more," Chopra told NDTV.

"When the spear left my hand on that second throw, I had a feeling that this was a special throw. I don't think I expected it to go over 86 meters but since the last couple of months, I have worked hard on my fitness, my technique and it all paid off today," Chopra said after his world record performance.

Chopra's throw is the eighth best among all javelin throwers this year. He is also ahead of defending Olympic gold medalist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, whose best in 2016 is 86.35m.

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Anju Bobby George, long jumper, is the only Indian to have won a medal in the senior World Championship, a bronze medal in 2003.

Neeraj, 18, had also won the South Asian Games gold in Guwahati earlier this year with a personal best of 82.23m.