Neeraj Chopra fulfills gold dream of late legendary sprinter Milkha Singh

Jalandhar: After winning gold in Men’s Javelin Throw, Neeraj Chopra fulfilled the dreams of the late legendary sprinter Milkha Singh, who missed an Olympic medal by a whisker 60 years ago.

Singh on various occasions had told the media that it was his dream to see an Indian athlete win a gold medal at the Olympics as he had lost in Rome. Chopra, however, fulfilled this dream after winning gold for India in Men’s Javelin Throw in Tokyo Olympics 2020 and ended a wait of over 100 years. He is the son of a farmer from Haryana.

During a recent interview in Chandigarh Milkha said, “Marnay se pehle mera ek sapna hai ke India ko Olympics main medal mile. (Before I die, it is my wish that I want to see an Indian athlete win a medal at the Olympics).

Chopra scripted history by winning the elusive medal, which the likes of late Milkha Singh and PT Usha let slip from their grasp in 1964 and 1984 editions. India’s PT Usha came close to win a medal in women’s 400m hurdles in 1984 but she finished fourth. Similarly, Milkha Singh finished fourth in the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Chopra hurled the javelin at 88.58m to break his national record. Indian athletics starved of a medal winner after Norman Pritchard claimed the 200m silver on July 22, 1900.