1Neeraj Chopra suffered a heartbreak at the Paris Olympics and and missed out on defending his gold medal. The star Indian javelin thrower finished second and won the silver medal in the global event. Two months after the final, Neeraj has opened up on losing to Arshad Nadeem and said that there was a disappointment.
"Nothing was wrong, everything was right. The throw was also good. Getting a silver (medal) in the Olympics is also not a small thing. There was disappointment. But, I feel that the competition was very good, and it was tough. The gold medal is won by the person to whom the day belongs to. That day was (Arshad) Nadeem's day," Neeraj told PTI.
"In javelin, there are no two teams (playing against each other), but there are 12 athletes from different countries, who are competing with each other. I have been competing with Nadeem since 2016, and it is the first time that he has won."
Neeraj topped the qualification round with a throw of 89.34m. Arshad finished at the third spot with a throw of 86.59m. Both Neeraj and Arshad kicked off the proceedings with foul throws in the final. Neeraj only came up with one legal throw of 89.45m on the second attempt.
Arshad etched his name in history books with a throw of 92.97m on his second attempt. He followed up with throws of 88.72m, 79.40m and 84.87m. The Pakistani javelin thrower breached the 90m mark in his final attempt and hurled the spear to a distance of 91.79m.
Neeraj achieved greatness by winning the historic silver medal in Paris and he became the first Indian athlete (post independence) to win two medals in track and field events. Neeraj ended India's 121-year wait for a medal in athletics in Tokyo by winning the gold medal. Neeraj can become the first Indian to win three Olympic medals if he continues his purple patch in the 2028 Olympics in LA.