August 7, 2021 will forever go down in history, having witnessed one of the greatest ever moments for India in their sporting history.
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The penultimate day of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (August 7, 2021, 5:38 PM IST) saw javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra script history. The whole world stopped. India deliriously shouted in joy. In 125 years of the Olympics, 93 years ever since India started winning medals, August 7, 2021 will forever go down in history having witnessed one of the greatest ever moments for India in their sporting history. Neeraj Chopra, hailing from Panipat, secured the gold medal in the javelin long-throw event. This was the second individual gold for an Indian in the Olympics as Neeraj Chopra joined Abhinav Bindra at the top. While Bindra’s 2008 epic in Beijing created a revolution in shooting, Neeraj Chopra’s gold in javelin was the first in the history of athletics for India. Tokyo 2020 has witnessed India’s best-ever performance in the history of the Olympics, with wrestler Bajrang Punia winning a bronze medal via the repechage on the penultimate day. Golfer Aditi Ashok impressed one and all, finishing fourth in a sport that enjoyed limited expectations from fans back home (Tokyo 2020 full coverage)
21:00 PM IST – Brazil have won the gold medal in the men’s football final, dramatically beating Spain 2-1 in the extra time. Read everything about it here.
18:15 PM IST – Neeraj Chopra has created history by winning the gold medal in the javelin long-throw event and his achievement has eclipsed every sporting achievement that India has had in its history. Here is a piece that describes the importance of the event.
17:38 PM IST – Neeraj Chopra wins the gold medal in the Javelin throw final. He has won India’s first-ever medal in athletics and becomes only the second individual gold medallist from the country. Here is the full report.
17:30 PM IST – Neeraj Chopra’s fifth throw is disqualified as well, but he still leads the rest of the pack in the Javelin throw final.
17:22 PM IST – Neeraj Chopra’s fourth one is a foul throw, but he still leads the rest of the pack in the Javelin throw final.
17:12 PM IST – At the halfway point of the final, Neeraj Chopra is still in the gold medal spot in the Javelin throw final.
16:59 PM IST – Neeraj Chopra’s third throw registered a distance of 76.79m.
16:48 PM IST – Neeraj Chopra has followed up his fine throw in Round 1, with an even better throw in the second round recording a distance of 87.58m.
16:39 PM IST – Neeraj is leading the field after Round 1, following a fantastic opening throw.
16:35 PM IST – Neeraj Chopra is off to a fine start in the Javelin throw final, with an opening throw of 87.03m.
16:22 PM IST – Bajrang Punia has won a bronze medal, following a sublime 8-0 win. India have now equalled the tally of medals in London. Read the full report here.
16:20 PM IST – Bajrang Punia now enjoys a 6-0 lead with nearly a minute left for the end of the encounter.
16:18 PM IST- Bajrang Punia leads 2-0 with 3 minutes left on the clock. A solid defence at this stage will see him clinch bronze.
16:14 PM IST – Bajrang Punia is in action, in a do-or-die encounter.
16:02 PM IST – Bajrang Punia will be seen taking on Daulet Niyazbekov from Kazakhstan for the bronze medal in a few minutes.
10:55 AM IST – Aditi Ashok managed a fourth place finish but it was higher than she could and should have finished. Read about her close call here.
10:16 AM IST – So close for Ashok. She fell out of the top three and finishes fourth, one shot off the top 3. Valiant showing regardless.
9:43 AM IST – And we are set to resume golf action. Remember, as things stand, Ashok is winning bronze. But two holes can change a lot.
9:00 AM IST – Oh dear. The buzzer sounds and that means the players are heading back to the clubhouse. There’s a storm warning and play is suspended for at least a half hour. And with two holes to go no less!
8:40 AM IST – Three holes to go and Ashok is fourth. At -3 she’s done very little wrong but the top ranked players have been on another level.
8:00 AM IST – Ashok is still in contention for a medal. Given she is ranked 200th in the world, that in itself is amazing.
7:15 AM IST – Ashok is now in a three-way tie for second and amazingly can still win gold in the right circumstances. She’s been steady so far.
6:40 AM IST – In incredible scenes, Aditi Ashok is currently tied first in the women’s golf individual strokeplay event. A medal in this sport would be massive.
6:05 AM IST – Hello and welcome to live coverage of the day’s action. Read a round-up of yesterday’s events here.
