Panipat: Scripting history by clinching a silver in the 18th World Athletics Championships, Neeraj Chopra is the man of the hour as the entire nation celebrates his victory. Chopra's hometown in Haryana is beaming with celebrations with his family, neighbours and relatives distributing sweets and dancing with joy as the 24-year-old added yet another feather to his cap with this win -- registering himself as the only second Indian athlete to have won a World Athletics Championships medal.
Apart from his family, people from across Chopra's native village of Khandara had been looking forward to today's Javelin Throw match, and are elated at the results. All the villagers had made it a point to watch the match that began early this morning.
Chopra's father, Satish Kumar, expressed pride in his son for bringing this victory to the nation. "We are all very proud of him. The entire nation is celebrating," he said. Further adding that he is the only second person after Anju Bobby George -- who had won a bronze in 2003 -- to have won this medal, he said he is happy that Neeraj could bring silver to the country.
Speaking about Neeraj's preparations before the match, his father said that he was confident about the match. " When I last spoke to him over call, he said he will try his best to win and break his own record. He was confident that he will make the country proud and he delivered quite well. Although he could not secure a gold medal, I am sure there are more feats in the future waiting for him," he said. Asked what are Chopra's further plans career-wise, Satish said that he is currently focused on the upcoming Olympics while other things have taken a backseat for now.
Also read: Watch: Neeraj Chopra's first reaction after winning silver for India
Neeraj's mother Saroj Devi, also extremely proud of her son, said that she is very happy. "He has been working really hard. I have not spoken to him in the past 15 days because he has been busy training. I was sure he will emerge victorious. It should not matter much whether he brought a gold or a silver. He has made the nation proud by giving his very best and we all are extremely proud of him," Chopra's joyous mother told ETV Bharat.
Glad that her son will be back home after a long time now, Saroj Devi said she wants to cook his favourite food once he is back. Asked about his marriage plans, she said that there are no plans as of now and he intends on honing himself as an athlete and focusing on his career. Several other villagers too expressed their pride in the golden boy Chopra and said there's a lot more to be achieved by him in the future.
Deputy Commissioner Sushil Sarwan, who also joined the celebrations here, said that Chopra has been continuously bringing glory to the nation with his skills and determination. "He is currently one of the best sportspersons in the country and nothing makes us prouder. I personally look forward to seeing him achieve much more for the nation and I see it happening very swiftly," Sarwan said.
The javelin throw final of the World Athletics Championships was concluded today in Eugene, US with Chopra's rival Anderson Peters clinching the gold. Chopra has also secured Indian athletics' maiden gold in the Tokyo Olympics held last year.
