World Athletics Championships: 'Gold for our diamond', netizens hail Neeraj Chopra's historic feat in Budapest

Neeraj Chopra certainly does have a knack for creating historic moments. Whether it was his gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, or his gold on the final day of the 2023 World Athletics Championships on Sunday.

Two years since he won India's maiden Olympic gold in athletics, ace javelin thrower Chopra ended the country's four-decade wait for gold in any discipline on Monday with a throw of 88.17 metres in his second attempt.

In the process, the Haryana athlete went one better that his silver-winning performance at the World Championships that took place in Eugene, USA last year.

India have won only three medals to date in the World Athletics Championships since the tournament began in 1983 in Helsinki. Two of those, a gold and a silver, have been won by Chopra in as many years while long jumper Anju Bobby George won India's first-ever medal at the event with a bronze in Paris in 2003.

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Chopra sealed the deal with an effort of 88.17 metres in his second attempt in the men's javelin throw final. Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem finished a close second with a best effort of 87.82 metres to win silver while Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch collected bronze with an effort of 86.67 metres.

Social media's focus however, was firmly on Chopra and his second historic feat in a space of three years. Here's how they reacted: