India revels in Neeraj's 'golden moment'; politicians laud his 'unparalleled grit'

News Network

August 7, 2021

New Delhi, Aug 7: Neeraj Chopra became the toast of the nation after claiming India's first-ever track-and-field medal at the Olympics with President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing the young javelin thrower's "unparalleled grit" for a landmark gold-winning feat at the Tokyo Games.

The 23-year-old on Saturday became only the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics, out-performing the field by quite a distance with a second-round throw of 87.58m in the finals to end India's 100-year wait for a track and field medal in the Olympics.

Applauding his effort, President Kovind described it as an "unprecedented" achievement that will prove to be an inspiration for the youth of this country.

"Unprecedented win by Neeraj Chopra! Your javelin gold breaks barriers and creates history. You bring home the first-ever track and field medal to India in your first Olympics. Your feat will inspire our youth. India is elated! Heartiest congratulations!," Kovind tweeted.

Congratulating Chopra, Prime Minister Modi said his performance will be remembered for ages.

"History has been scripted at Tokyo! What @Neeraj_chopra1 has achieved today will be remembered forever. The young Neeraj has done exceptionally well. He played with remarkable passion and showed unparalleled grit. Congratulations to him for winning the Gold. #Tokyo2020," tweeted Modi.

Chopra, a farmer's son from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana, won the country's seventh medal and first gold in this Olympics.

Congratulating Chopra on his success, Sports minister said Anurag Thakur wrote: "NEERAJ CHOPRA. India's Golden Boy! India's Olympic History has been scripted! Your superbly soaring throw deserves a Billion Cheers! Your name will be etched in the history books with golden letters."

Former sports minister Kiren Rijiju described it a "golden moment" for Indian sports.

"History has been made, Milkha Singh Ji's wish is fulfilled as India wins first-ever Olympic medal in Athletics! A golden moment 4 India as Neeraj Chopra won Olympic Gold medal for India at #Tokyo2020. Congratulations @Neeraj_chopra1 on this historic achievement!," Rijiju tweeted.

With this effort, Chopra also joined shooter Abhinav Bindra (2008 Beijing Games) as India's individual gold winners in the showpiece event.

Welcoming him to the club, Bindra wrote: "And Gold it is for @Neeraj_chopra1. Take a bow, young man ! You have fulfilled a nation's dream. Thank you! Also, welcome to the club - a much-needed addition! Extremely proud. I am so delighted for you."

His medal also ensured that the country surpassed the previous best haul of six medal achieved in the 2012 London Games.

Weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who had opened India's account at Tokyo with a first-ever silver in the sport, tweeted: "Congratulations @Neeraj_chopra1 on winning first-ever gold medal in Athletics for our country. Really a proud moment for our nation."

Indian cricketers, led by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, also joined in to congratulate Chopra.

"India shines brighter today because of you, Neeraj. Your javelin carried the tricolour all the way and made it flutter with the pride of every Indian. What a moment for Indian sport!," Tendulkar tweeted.

Former India batsman Suresh Raina tweeted: "Heartiest congratulations to you @Neeraj_chopra1 for bringing the first GOLD home. Proud of your tremendous performance! #Cheer4India #JavelinThrow #Olympics #Tokyo2020."

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IndiGo CEO says less than 1,000 cancellations on Dec 6; normalcy by Dec 15

News Network

December 5,2025

New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said.

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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