A young javelin prodigy hopes to leave his mark
on the international athletics pitch
and fulfil the dreams of 1.3 billion people.
They don't win medals on the track.
And here is Neeraj Chopra trying to do that now.
In a nation that has been starving for success
on sport's grandest stage,
will Neeraj Chopra collapse under the weight
of his nation's Olympic dreams?
Or can the 23-year-old hurl those dreams into reality
by winning the country's first gold medal in athletics?
Wait for it.
Welcome back! I'm Lisanne de Witte
and while I've run many miles on a track,
I've never attempted to throw a javelin.
But I know how nervous I was at my first Olympics
and for Neeraj Chopra,
that first time was at Tokyo 2020.
India has a proud Olympic history,
with their Men in Blue
dominating men's field hockey for decades,
scoring 12 medals, eight of them gold.
Despite that rich history,
India had only one individual gold medal to share
between its 1.3 billion citizens.
It was won by Abhinav Bindra when he upset the field
in a spectacular shooting display
in Beijing 2008.
Before 2008,
the nation had pinned their hopes
for Olympic glory on Milkha Singh,
lovingly nicknamed "The Flying Sikh".
It'd been the sprinter's dream
to hear their national anthem played in the Olympic stadium.
Though he represented India three times,
he never quite made it to the podium.
In June 2021,
the nation was rocked by the news that
their "Flying Sikh" had passed away
just a month before Tokyo.
All eyes were now on Neeraj.
That's a lot of pressure for a farmer's kid
who hadn't seen a javelin before he was 13.
Will the first-time Olympian strike gold?
He's very fast on the run-up.
Look at him push forward, he winds that javelin back...
Wait for it.
When Neeraj was a kid, he struggled with his weight.
Knowing exercise might help, his uncle took him to a track
where he picked up his first javelin.
Not long after, he was a rockstar athlete
carrying a nation's dreams on the tip of his spear.
So, he put in the hard work.
Unfortunately, hard work can often
go arm in arm with injuries.
For Neeraj,
it was debilitating bone spurs in his elbow.
His only option was surgery.
That forced the Olympic hopeful
into an unwanted 16-month hiatus.
In January 2020,
he was finally able to earn a spot in his first Olympics.
Even though Neeraj navigated his way
through a difficult injury, navigating
pandemic travel restrictions was a different story.
After Tokyo was delayed because of Covid,
Neeraj was finally able to enter
some much-needed warm-up events.
But on his way to the first one,
travel restrictions changed and his visa was rejected.
It took him three months and an intervention
by the government to clear up that mess.
Instead of months to prepare for Tokyo,
he was limited to a few weeks.
Would the stress of travel complications
sink his chance of Olympic glory?
If he's gonna do that,
he'll have to get better, you would think.
Wait for it.
How much better? Better than better.
Try saying that three times fast.
Germany's Johannes Vetter.
The odds-on favorite to bring home the gold in Tokyo.
In the final, medal contenders each get three throws,
but only the top eight move on for three more.
Unfortunately, Vetter should have been better.
The German who routinely threw over 90 meters
didn't make it through.
On the other hand, Neeraj, on his second throw, did this:
Winds that javelin back...
He loved it when he let it go.
He loved it because he's bedded his first throw,
he did know it.
A distance of 87.58 meters. First place.
Until...
the very last throw, when Jakub Vadlejch,
within striking distance of gold,
picked up his javelin.
He has to throw 87.58
to knock Chopra out of the gold medal position.
Not to add any pressure,
but way back in 2017, Neeraj promised on Instagram:
"I'm going to make India proud at the Tokyo Olympics."
Would Vadlejch claim the gold for himself
or would Neeraj come through on his gold promise?
Here we go, his final throw.
No, he won't have done it.
Neeraj made good on his four-year-old promise
and realized the dreams of 1.3 billion people.
And when India's national anthem played,
he fulfilled yet another,
dedicating his win to "The Flying Sikh".
And his first words to his dad after his epic win:
"I made my mark, Papa". He sure did.
Neeraj's spirit will inspire the children of India
to soar above any obstacles life might throw their way.
We'll have another amazing Olympic story
to throw your way soon, but you'll have to...
wait for it.
Do you want to try it again?
Yeah.