Neeraj Chopra found a way to call upon a hidden skill to add to his trademark composure as he had to control the uncontrollable and become the first Indian to win a World Athletics Championships gold medal. Battling some doubts, he sent the Javelin over 88.17m across the field at the National Athletic Centre in Budapest to make history.
It is a moment that all of India willed. It was a magical moment that capped a glorious week for India, its scientists achieving glory by landing the Chandrayaan3 Rover Vikram on the Moon, chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa stretching Magnus Carlson in the World Cup and HS Prannoy becoming the latest badminton player to win a World Championship medal.
Yet, at the National Athletic Centre on Sunday, it was evident that only the unstoppable Neeraj Chopra can do the unthinkable. If Eugene was a mind-over-matter tale leading to his becoming the first Indian male athlete to win a World Championships medal, Budapest was the surprising converse.
There was ample proof of the more than subtle hints of doubt crossing his mind, but his body rose to the occasion and repaid him for the mindful manner in which he has looked after it. The World Championship gold completed the bouquet of titles, adding to the Olympic Games gold, the Diamond League Trophy, the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games gold.
Indeed, Sunday was not about faking confidence or not letting the others know that he was worried about a groin muscle causing him to check his run up. “Throwing is about getting all parts of the body to work in unison. I felt like I was throwing with the arm while the legs were not in sync,” he said, leaving everyone to wonder what he could have done had his mind not dragged his legs
After stepping over the line since he was unhappy with the distance on his first throw, he virtually told them all that they were fighting for the lesser medal. He may have rushed into taking that first throw in the early phase of the women’s 5000m run, but when his turn came to line up the second throw, he was summoning his power and timing to come together in one magical moment.
As the Javelin left his hand, he knew instinctively that it would cut through the night sky, flirting with the half-moon before beginning its descent to land closer to the 90m arc. He turned around and raised his arms in triumph. He turned back, rather uncharacteristically to track the flight of ths spear, clenched his fist and let out a roar.
It was not so much a message to the 11 others aspiring to deny him the joy a second successive podium finish. It was a statement he was making to himself that he could plant doubts in the mind of his competitors. Neeraj Chopra produced the longest throw of the night and win gold even after telegraphing his concerns, surfacing from the sub-conscious to the physical.
The 25-yer-old from Panipat did not warm his seat on the athletes’ bench at all, instead he was prowling around the area and ensuring that his muscles were all warmed up. He would stretch, instinctively reassuring the adductor that he would be mindful, stretch again, jog, sprint and practice his throwing action and walk back.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem gave him stiff competition, getting as close as 35cm with his third attempt. And Jakub Valdejch (Czech Republic) found his rhythm to go close to the 87m mark. On a night when the 90m mark was an arc too far, Juilan Weber (Germany) sent the spear to 85.79m. But each of them was only vying to flank the affable Neeraj Chopra on the podium.
Kishore Kumar Jena’s fifth place with a personal best throw of 84.77m and DP Manu’s sixth place with 84.14, both coming under pressure in the final two rounds, risked being reduced to a footnote in the light of Neeraj Chopra’s enormous achievement, but the champion ensured that he made glowing mention of his team-mates and their performance on World Championships debut.
He also praised Parul Chaudhary for getting a National Record time of 9:15.31 and attaining Olympic qualification with a sensational run in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase as well as the men’s 4x400m Relay squad which broke the Asian Record in the heats and ran another sub-3-minute time in the final where it finished a gallant fifth.
The three finals whipped up an unusual but delightful frenzy for the Indians fans and, in the span of an hour and a half, earned India the 18th rank in the Medal Table and the 21st spot on the Placings Table which takes into account top 8 finishes across disciplines, a far cry from the gloom that enveloped the Indian squad after the first four days of underwhelming performances.
One man answering to the name of Neeraj Chopra answered the collective dream of a billion and more, putting a smile on the faces of those who stayed up late to watch him deal with greatness as if it were a confidant and guaranteeing smiles on the faces of those who would wake up to the news that India finally had a World Champion in the most global of sports.
The results (finals and Indian placings)
Men
5000m: 1. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) 13:11.30; 2. Mohamed Katir (Spain) 13:11.44; 3. Jacob Krop (Kenya) 13:12.28.
Javelin Throw: 1. Neeraj Chopra (India) 88.17m; 2. Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan) 87.82; 3. Jakub Valdlejch (Czech Republic) 86.67; 5. Kishore Kumar Jena (India) 84.77; 6. DP Manu (India) 84.14.
4x400m Relay: 1. United States of America (Quincy Hall, Vernon Norwood, Justin Robinson, Rai Benjamin) 2:57.31; 2. France 2:58.71; 3. Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2:58.71; 5. India (Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, Rajesh Ramesh) 2:59.92.
Marathon: 1. Viktor Kiplangat (Uganda) 2:08:53; 2. Maru Teferi (Israel) 2:09.12; 3. Leul Gebresilase (Ethiopia) 2:09.19.
Women
800m: 1. Mary Moraa (Kenya) 1:56.03; 2. Keely Hodgkinson (Britain) 1:56.34; 3. Athing Mu (United States of America) 1:56.61.
3000m Steeplechase: 1. Winfred Mutlie Yavie (Bahrain) 8:54.29; 2. Beatrice Chepkoech (Kenya) 8:58.98; 3. Faith Cherotich (Kenya) 9:00.69; 11. Parul Chaudhary 9:15.31 (National Record. Old: 9:19.76, Lalita Babar, Rio de Janiero, 2016).
High Jump: 1. Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine) 2.01m; 2. Eleanor Patterson (Australia) 1.99; 3. Nicola Olyslagers (Australia) 1.99.
4x400m: 1. Netherlans (Eveline Saalberg, Lieke Klaver, Cathelijn Peeters, Femke Bol) 3;20.72; Jamaica 3:20.88; 3. Great Britain & Northern Ireland 3:21.04.