On August 7 this year, on the first anniversary of Neeraj's historic gold medal finish at the Japan National Stadium when he sealed the deal with a majestic throw of 87.58m, the first National Javelin Day was celebrated in the country.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had earlier announced that from now on August 7 will be commemorated as National Javelin Day.
According to AFI President Adille J Sumariwalla, this step has been taken to promote the sport at the grassroots level to encourage more and more kids to take up javelin, with Neeraj as their shining idol.
As many as 32 State and Union Territory units affiliated to the AFI organised Javelin competitions on August 7. The competitions were held in various categories like, U-14, U-16, U-18, U-20 and Men's.