Chopra wins India’s 1st gold in Olympic track and field

TOKYO (AP) — Neeraj Chopra won India’s first gold medal in Olympic track and field with a throw of 87.58 meters on Saturday to clinch the javelin title at the Tokyo Games.

India’s only previous medals in Olympic track and field were two silvers won by Norman Pritchard in the 200 meters and the 200-meter hurdles at the 1900 Paris Games.

Chopra was the first athlete from India to win gold in javelin at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, both in 2018.

He set a new benchmark in Tokyo, holding off two athletes from the Czech Republic to finish atop the podium. Jakub Vadlejch took silver with a best mark of 86.67 meters and former world champion Vitezslav Vesely won bronze with 85.44.

___

More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports