Neeraj Chopra strikes Gold to make Olympics history for India

With 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 4 Bronze, India had its best-ever Olympics run at Tokyo as the Games in the Japanese capital drew to a close this weekend. At the helm of this spectacular success is a 23-year-old farmer's son from the state of Haryana, star Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.

Army officer Subedar Chopra’s success is being celebrated by Indians across the globe, as he bagged the first-ever individual Gold since Abhinav Bindra for shooting in 2008. And with this win, he also ended India's 100-year wait for a track and field medal at the Olympics.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon took to Twitter after the win: "History has been scripted at Tokyo! What Neeraj Chopra has achieved today will be remembered forever. The young Neeraj has done exceptionally well.

“He played with remarkable passion and showed unparalleled grit. Congratulations to him for winning the Gold."

Chopra himself said that he wanted to dedicate his medal to Indian track and field legends Milkha Singh and PT Usha.

"Milkha Singh had this dream… It has now been fulfilled, but he is not here with us," reflected India’s newest sporting hero.

Meanwhile, the pandemic-embattled Tokyo 2020 came to a close with the US top of the medals tally at 39 golds, followed by China at 38, Japan 27 and Great Britain 22.