Neeraj Chopra’s mother praises Pakistani star Nadeem Arshad who won gold apart from celebrating his own son’s success.
Neeraj is getting praise for his incredible effort at the Paris Olympics after securing the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw final at Stade de France.
But it was Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem who won gold medal by breaking the Olympic Record with a huge throw in front of a crammed full of people.
Neeraj gave his season-best attempt of 89.45m, but it wasn’t close to Arshad’s humongous throw of 92.97 meters.
Before the Paris Olympics, Neeraj had a fair share of trouble with injuries.
The groin injury that haunted him in 2023 and forced him to miss the Commonwealth Games returned early in May after he felt discomfort in his adductor.
The father of Neeraj Satish Kumar, who was proud after witnessing Neeraj’s performance and felt it was Pakistan’s day in the men’s javelin throw final, felt that his injury had a critical role in his performance.
“Everyone has their day. Today was Pakistan’s day. But we have won silver, and it is a proud thing for us. I think his groin injury had a part in his performance,” Satish told ANI.
His father believes that Neeraj’s success in Paris will play an important role for the future generation and inspire them.
“He has won silver for the country. We are happy and proud. All the youths will get inspired by him,” Satish told reporters.
A big screen was arranged for people from Neeraj’s neighbourhood, and people turned up in numbers to see Neeraj perform in Paris.
Following his triumph, sweets were distributed among people, and crackers were burst to celebrate India’s first silver and overall fifth at the Paris Olympics.
Neeraj’s mother Saroj Devi was happy with the way his son delivered in the Summer Games and is excited to cook her son’s favourite meal.
Neeraj Chopra’s mother also praised Pakistani star Nadeem Arshad who won gold.
“We are very happy. For us, silver is also equal to gold. The one who got the gold is also like our son. He was injured, so we are happy with his performance. I will cook his favourite food,” she said.
#WATCH | Haryana: On Neeraj Chopra winning a silver medal in men’s javelin throw at #ParisOlympics2024, his mother Saroj Devi says, “We are very happy, for us silver is also equal to gold…he was injured, so we are happy with his performance…” pic.twitter.com/6VxfMZD0rF
— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2024
Neeraj’s grandfather, Dharm Singh Chopra, also reacted to his grandson’s win and said, “He has given his best performance and won silver, adding one more medal to the country.”
To defend his Tokyo gold medal, Neeraj had to do what he still has to achieve in his career, breaching the 90m mark.
After Arshad sent shockwaves throughout the athletics community with an Olympic Record effort of 92.97m, Neeraj had to dig deep and pull out his biggest performance ever.
However, he struggled to find his groove and registered a single legal attempt out of six, which turned out to be his season-best attempt.
Arshad effortlessly sent his javelin past the 90m mark to deliver one of the greatest track and field performances in the history of the Olympics.
He broke the Olympic record in his second attempt and capped off his impressive display with a remarkable throw of 91.79m to take away the gold.
