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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.
Chopra won the men's javelin with a best throw of 87.58 metres, finishing ahead of Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch (86.67 metres) and Vitezslav Vesely (85.44).
The 23-year-old became only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal after Abhinav Bindra won the 10-metre air rifle event at the 2008 Olympic Games.
"History has been scripted at Tokyo! What @Neeraj_chopra1 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. #Tokyo2020," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Your performance has further elevated what has been evident throughout the Games - that our athletes are not only capable of going toe to toe with the best, but are firmly establishing ourselves as the favorites," Bindra said on Twitter.
"Our first individual Gold might have taken over a century to come, but the comparatively miniscule time taken for your to bring home the second is a solid indication that we, as a sporting nation, are on the rise."
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