Asian Games 2018: Neeraj Chopra keeps Raksha Bandhan promise to his sister; family ecstatic

Neeraj Chopra not only made the nation proud by winning gold in javelin throw at Asian Games 2018, but also fulfilled his promise made to his sister on Raksha Bandhan.

Chopra promised his sister on Raksha Bandhan, a festival celebrated to mark the bond between siblings, that he will gift her a gold medal this year.

After his victory, everyone in his family and neighbourhood are in a festive mood. They have been celebrating his win by singing, dancing and distributing laddoos. 

The 20-year-old Haryana boy defeated his competitors as he hurled the javelin to a distance of 88.06 metres, a new national mark, bettering his own record of 87.43m. 

With this achievement, Chopra became the first Indian to win a javelin gold in Asian Games history. Overall, this is the third javelin medal for the country. Parsa Singh (silver) in 1951 and Gurtej Singh (bronze) in 1982 were the previous Indian winners.

Earlier this year, Chopra won gold (86.47m) at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. In May, at the Diamond League in Doha, he set a new national record with a throw of 87.43m. However, he failed to finish on the podium there, finishing fourth.