Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra's bumpy ride to ultimate glory buoyed by PM Modi's support

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Saturday created history and won India's first-ever gold medal at track and field in the Olympics, but the 23-year-old's journey has been through its share of ups and downs.

In 2019, Neeraj underwent elbow surgery and his participation in the Tokyo Games looked uncertain. However, it seems the stars were aligned for the athlete as the Games were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The javelin thrower has now won the country a gold medal at the Olympics and enthused people.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also taken note of Neeraj Chopra's injury in 2019 and had conveyed to him his best wishes.

"Neeraj, you're a brave youngster who has been making India proud continuously! Everyone is praying for your quick and complete recovery," PM Modi had tweeted on May 4, 2019.

Neeraj Chopra had congratulated PM Modi over victory in the Lok Sabha elections and getting a successive second term as Prime Minister.

"My heartiest congratulations to our prime minister @narendramodi sir on this historic win. May our country achieve new heights under your leadership.#Election2019Results," Neeraj Chopra had tweeted.

To this tweet from the javelin thrower, PM Modi had said: "Thanks, @Neeraj_chopra1. I hope you are recovering well. My best wishes."

Earlier this year, Neeraj Chopra had highlighted how he has got every facility possible to train to the best of his ability for the Games.

"As far as preparations for @Tokyo2020 are concerned, all my requirements have been taken care of in the best possible way. I'm training in Europe currently and am thankful for the efforts made by the government and the Indian embassy, despite the tough visa rules," he had said in a tweet.

Neeraj Chopra on Saturday threw the javelin to a distance of 87.58m to pick the gold at the Olympics.

He began his quest for a medal with a massive throw of 87.03 meters and was leading the pack after the end of the first attempt. He bettered it with the second throw of 87.58m. While he wasn't able to improve any further, it was enough to get him the coveted medal. He is now the second Indian after Abhinav Bindra to win a gold medal in individual events.

India has now won seven medals in the multi-sporting event, its best-ever performance. In the ongoing Tokyo 2020, Bajrang Punia (Bronze), Mirabai Chanu (silver), PV Sindhu (bronze), Lovlina Borgohain (bronze), men's hockey team ( bronze), and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (silver) have also won medals.

Neeraj Chopra had announced his arrival in style in the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday when he threw a monstrous throw of 86.65m and automatically qualified for the final in his first attempt.

( With inputs from ANI )