Tokyo Olympics Gold Medalist Neeraj Chopra Returns India, Warm Welcome by Chaos At Airport

‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra and other Indian athletes who had stayed back in Tokyo for the closing ceremony of the showpiece event, returned back home on Monday (August 9).

Fans and families arrived at the airport to welcome the athletes. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Saturday had won a gold medal and this was the first medal won by an Indian athlete in track and field in the Games.

Thousands of fans waited outside the airport to welcome wrestlers Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia, boxer Lovlina Borgohain and the men's hockey team, who arrived from Tokyo earlier in the day.

Badminton star PV Sindhu, who won her 2nd Olympic medal, and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu who won a Silver medal on the opening day of the Games, will also join the rest of the medalists at the Ashoka hotel in New Delhi. The two Olympic medalists had reached India after completing their events.

India headed to the Tokyo Games with its biggest-ever medal contingent and finished with their biggest-ever medal tally of 7 - 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze.

While wrestling continued to produce Olympic medalists for India with Ravi Kumar Dahiya becoming the 2nd Indian to win a silver in the sport, Lovlina Borgohain was the saving grace for the boxing contingent that flattered to deceive.

India started their campaign with a Silver medal from weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and they ended their campaign with a historic gold medal, their first-ever in track and field when Neeraj Chopra won the Men's Javelin gold on August 8.