Neeraj Chopra secured a silver medal in the men’s javelin throw final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, narrowly missing out on retaining his Olympic gold. With a best throw of 89.45 metres, Chopra fell short as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem claimed the gold with a record-breaking throw of 92.97 metres.
Chopra’s silver-medal throw came on his second attempt, but his performance was marred by inconsistency, with four of his six attempts being disqualified due to fouls. Despite a strong qualification round where he registered a throw of 89.34 metres, Chopra was unable to surpass his season-best in the final.
This silver medal marks Chopra as the second male athlete from Bharat to win two Olympic medals in an individual event since Bharat’s independence, a significant achievement that adds to his legacy. However, the pressure seemed to get to him during the final, with Chopra’s first and third attempts invalidated by red flags, and his final three attempts also resulting in fouls.
Arshad Nadeem’s golden performance was highlighted by a massive throw of 92.97 metres on his second attempt, which not only secured him the top spot but also set a new Olympic record, surpassing the previous record held by Denmark’s Andreas Thorkildsen from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Nadeem further strengthened his dominance with a final attempt of 91.79 metres.
Grenada’s Anderson Peters rounded out the podium with a bronze medal, achieving a best throw of 88.54 metres.
Despite the intense rivalry between Chopra and Nadeem, with Chopra previously leading 9-0 in their head-to-head encounters, Nadeem’s exceptional performance at the Paris Olympics saw him surpass his Commonwealth Games record throw of 90.18 metres, leaving Chopra to settle for silver this time around.
