DNA Explainer: Know all about Javelin throw, the sport in which Neeraj Chopra won India's 1st Olympic gold in athletics

Neeraj Chopra got India its first Gold medal in Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the men's javelin throw event, also a first in the category of Track and Field. It was an evening of joy and honour for Indians who sat back and could only dream of what had become a reality on Saturday (August 7). 

Neeraj has become the second person to win an individual Gold medal for India, before him Abhinav Bindra had won a gold in shooting in 2008. This was also India's 7th medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, one of the best medals hauls for the country. 

Now, let's talk about the sport that got us a Gold medal. 

THE THROW THAT WON #IND A #GOLD MEDAL #Tokyo2020 | #StrongerTogether | #UnitedByEmotion @Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/F6xr6yFe8J

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 7, 2021

The history of Javelin throw

The art of throwing a Javelin far and with precision was widely practised in ancient Greece and slowly evolved from an everyday hunting and warfare activity and was eventually added to the Ancient Olympic Games as part of the pentathlon in 708 BC. It consisted of the participation of both men and women.

Modern Olympics Games programme had initiated the javelin throw for men in 1908 and women in 1932. 

How does the Javelin throw work?

The sport of javelin throw requires quite a lot of strength, power, precision and above everything, it requires the most amount of determination.
 
The athlete is required to throw a metal-tipped javelin as far as possible. The javelin must be held by a corded grip with the athlete's little finger closest to the tip. The player is supposed to run towards a defined area to gain momentum before throwing the javelin. 

While throwing the javelin, the athlete must not turn his back towards the landing area at any given time between their approach and throw. The javelin must be thrown from above the upper part of their throwing arm and must not cross the foul or scratch line at any cost. For the throw to be measured, the javelin must land tip first.

In a competition, athletes usually throw the javelin three to six times. IF there happens to be a tie, then the athlete with the next best effort will be declared the winner. 

There are different standards for men and women in the sport, where men's javelin must weight a minimum of  800g and be 2.6m-2.7m long, women's javelin can weigh a minimum of  600g and be 2.2m-2.3m long. 

About Neeraj Chopra

The 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra hails from Haryana is a Subedar with 4 Rajputana Rifles in the Indian Army. Neeraj took up the sport of Javelin throw in 2011 and was the first Indian to claim gold at the World Junior Championship in 2016 in Poland. He also became the first Indian athlete to win gold in both Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in 2018. The Haryana government has announced to honour the athlete with Rs 6 crore for his win at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.