Neeraj Chopra Wins India's 1st Athletics Gold: Here Are Country's Olympic Firsts

Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian ever to win a gold medal in an athletics event at the Olympic Games as he topped the men’s javelin throw final in Tokyo on Saturday. This was Neeraj’s first appearance at the Olympics and he created history and reached where no other Indian has ever been. Chopra became only the second individual gold medallist from India and won the country a third athletics medal.

Here are all the first for India in the Olympics:

First-ever Medal

Norman Pritchard is India’s first-ever medallist at the Olympic Games. Pritchard had won India two silver medals in Men’s 200m and Men’s 200m hurdles at the 1900 Paris Olympics.

First-ever Team Medal

The Indian men’s hockey team brought India her first-ever team medal in the Olympics. In the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, the men’s hockey team comprising of Richard Allen, Dhyan Chand, Michael Gateley, William Goodsir-Cullen, Leslie Hammond, Feroze Khan, George Marthins, Rex Norris, Broome Pinniger, Michael Rocque, Frederic Seaman, Ali Shaukat, Jaipal Singh, Sayed Yusuf and Kher Singh Gill won their event.

First-ever Gold

The Indian men’s hockey team’s gold medal at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics was India’s first time finishing at the top of the podium in any sport in the Games.

First-ever Individual Gold

Abhinav Bindra was the first Indian individual to win a gold medal at the Olympics when he won the men’s 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was the first individual to win an Olympic medal for India but the first gold medallist.

First-ever Athletics Gold

Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian ever to win a gold medal in athletics. He threw a best distance of 87.58m in the men’s javelin throw final at the Tokyo Olympics to become India’s second individual gold medallist. He has won a third athletics medal for the country but a first gold.

First-ever Wrestling Medal

KD Jadhav won India’s first-ever wrestling medal, a bronze medal in the men’s freestyle bantamweight event at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

First-ever Tennis Medal

India’s first medal in tennis was a bronze by Leander Paes. Paes finished third in men’s singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games to win a historic medal for the country.

First-ever Weightlifting Medal

Karnam Malleswari was India’s first woman medallist at the Olympic Games and won the country’s first medal in weightlifting. She won the bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Games in the women’s 69kg event.

First-ever Shooting Medal

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won India’s first-ever medal in the sport of shooting when he bagged the silver medal in men’s double trap event at the 2005 Athens Olympics.

First-ever Boxing Medal

Vijender Singh won India’s first boxing medal at the Olympic Games when he bagged the bronze in the middleweight category at the 2008 Beijing Games.

First Wrestling Silver Medal

Sushil Kumar at the 2012 London Olympics won India’s first silver medal in wrestling in the men’s freestyle 66kg event.

First-ever Badminton Medal

Saina Nehwal was the first shuttler to win India an Olympic medal in the sport of badminton when she bagged the bronze at the 2012 London Olympics in women’s singles event.

First Badminton Silver Medal

PV Sindhu did one better than Saina at the 2016 Rio Olympics as she won India’s first silver medal in badminton when she finished second at the women’s singles event.

First Weightlifting Silver Medal

Mirabai Chanu won a silver medal in the women’s 49kg event at the Tokyo Olympics to win India’s first second place finish in the sport of weightlifting.

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