India’s Neeraj Chopra bagged the silver medal after finishing second behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem in the men’s javelin event final at Paris Olympics 2024.
Indian superstar Neeraj Chopra has raised the hopes of the nation so much that even a silver medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 seems like a disappointment for the nation. The Tokyo Olympics 2021 gold medallist gave it his best shot in the men’s javelin final on Thursday (August 8) night and came up with his season’s best throw of 89.45m but on the day it was not enough as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem shattered the Olympic record with 92.97m throw to bring home a historic gold medal for his nation.
Indian javelin star, who had only one legal throw out of six attempts, revealed that he was participating in the Paris Games while carrying an injury. He said he was thinking about his injury (adductor niggle) when he was going for his throws.
“Whenever I throw, 60-70 percent focus is on injury. My runway was not good today, my speed was also low. Whatever I have done, I have done with this issue. I didn’t have time for surgery. I was just pushing myself,” Neeraj Chopra revealed on Thursday after the final.
“There is a lot left in me. I have to do that. I have that feeling that I can do it. Unless I achieve that, I won’t be at peace,” he added.
#WATCH | Paris: On winning a silver medal in men’s javelin throw at #ParisOlympics2024, Ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra says, “We all feel happy whenever we win a medal for the country…It’s time to improve the game now…We will sit and discuss and improve the… pic.twitter.com/kn6DNHBBnW
— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2024
It was not the first 90m effort from the Pakistani javelin star, having thrown 90.18m to win gold in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which Neeraj Chopra had missed. He is the second Asian to have thrown beyond 90m, the other being Chao-Tsun Cheng (91.36m in 2017) of Chinese Taipei.
After the final, Neeraj Chopra revealed the rivalry with Arshad Nadeem over the years. “I have been competing with Arshad since 2010 and lost to him for first time (today). It’s a sport, we have to accept it. We will try to maintain Asian supremacy till we have strength in our body. I have learnt that mindset is the biggest thing,” he said.
Neeraj Chopra is not prepared to sit on his laurels now and will begin the preparation for Los Angeles Olympics 2028. “We all feel happy whenever we win a medal for the country. It’s time to improve the game now. We will sit and discuss and enhance our performance,” Neeraj Chopra was quoted as saying by ANI.
The 26-year-old was confident about India’s future Olympic prospects, saying, “India played well (at the Paris Olympics). Our national anthem may not have been played today, but it will be heard in the future.”
Following his performance, Neeraj Chopra became the second male athlete post-independence to win two Olympic medals in an individual event.