If India had the highest hopes from anyone for a gold medal in Paris Olympics 2024, it was Neeraj Chopra. However, star javelin thrower Neeraj missed out on the gold. He won silver with a throw of 89.45 metres. This was his best throw of the season. At the same time, Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan made a throw of 92.97 meters and won the gold. This is a new Olympic record. Before this, Neeraj had always defeated Nadeem in ten matches. Neeraj is in pain after the gold slipped from his hands. Neeraj said that today was not his day. He also made a big prediction. He said that even though I could not get the national anthem played in Paris, it would definitely happen somewhere else. Let us tell you that the national anthem of the country whose player wins gold is played.
‘We will rectify the shortcomings’
26-year-old Neeraj said after getting silver, “Whenever we win a medal for the country, we feel happy.” Now is the time for improvement in the game. We will sit, discuss and improve. Whatever shortcomings there are, they will be rectified. If seen overall, India’s performance has been good. Don’t compare gold, bronze or silver with Tokyo. It is not necessary that our medals increase every time. But this is a sign for the times to come that our medals will increase further.” At the same time, when Neeraj was asked about the tough competition in the Paris final as compared to Tokyo, he said, ”The competition was very good. Every athlete has his own day. Today was Arshad’s day. But if we talk about Tokyo, Budapest or Asian Games, it was its day.
‘I admit that…’
He further said, “I gave my best but some things need to be focused and worked on.” We will have to work in that direction after healing some injuries. It has to be seen that the focus which remains towards injury during the game should be towards performance. The throw is there and it is good. It will come out once everyone is fit and mentally completely prepared. Everyone expected that our national anthem would be played. He has also lived up to that. But I admit that perhaps today was not my day. It has always been good but today I could not get the national anthem played. Even if the national anthem is not played in Paris, there will be a chance again in future and it will happen somewhere else.
Neeraj’s second throw (89.45) was the only valid throw in Paris. Five of his attempts were fouls. But even after winning silver, Neeraj has accomplished a big feat. He has become the first Indian track and field player to win two consecutive Olympic medals. He won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.58 meters.
