Neeraj Chopra’s quest to secure a second consecutive Olympic gold medal came up short as the Indian javelin star claimed silver in the men’s javelin throw final at the Paris Olympics on the night of 8 august 2024. Despite delivering his second-best career throw of 89.45 metres, Chopra was outshone by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who set an Olympic record to clinch the gold medal.
Chopra, who entered the final as the reigning Olympic champion and World Champion, was heavily favoured after a remarkable qualifying round where he threw 89.34 metres. In the final, Chopra managed to improve on his Tokyo 2020 gold-winning throw of 87.58 metres but could not surpass Nadeem’s extraordinary performance. Nadeem, who had finished just outside the podium in Tokyo and battled injuries and financial difficulties in the years since, stunned the world with a phenomenal throw of 92.97 metres, setting a new Olympic record.
Nadeem’s record-breaking throw, achieved in his second attempt, propelled him to the top of the standings, where he remained throughout the competition. He further solidified his dominance with subsequent throws of 88.72 metres, 79.40 metres, and 84.87 metres, before ending with another massive throw of 91.79 metres, making him the first athlete in Olympic history to breach the 90-metre mark twice in a single competition. This victory marked a historic moment for Pakistan, as Nadeem became the nation’s first-ever gold medalist in an individual Olympic event.
Anderson Peters of Grenada secured the bronze medal with a best throw of 88.54 metres, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott, who led the competition early with a throw of 86.16 metres, eventually finished behind the top three.
Neeraj Chopra’s final began on a shaky note with a foul on his first attempt. Nadeem also fouled his opening throw, while Walcott temporarily took the lead. However, Chopra’s second attempt of 89.45 metres briefly moved him to the silver-medal position, where he ultimately finished after three fouls in his subsequent four attempts.
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Despite the disappointment of missing out on gold, Chopra’s silver medal was a significant achievement. He became only the third Indian to win back-to-back Olympic medals, joining wrestler Sushil Kumar and badminton star PV Sindhu in this elite group. Sushil Kumar won bronze and silver medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, while Sindhu secured a silver in 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo 2020.
Chopra’s silver added to India’s medal tally at the Paris Olympics, bringing the total to five, with one silver and four bronze medals. His performance in Paris was particularly commendable given the injuries that have plagued him over the past few years. The javelin throw final was highly competitive, with Julien Weber of Germany, the Tokyo silver medalist, finishing sixth in the rankings.
Nadeem’s victory not only brought glory to Pakistan but also ended the nation’s 32-year Olympic medal drought, with their last medal being a bronze in men’s hockey at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Nadeem’s gold is also Pakistan’s first since the men’s hockey team’s victory at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. His record-breaking throw of 92.97 metres is now the sixth-best in the all-time list and shattered the previous Olympic record of 90.57 metres set by Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
In addition to his Olympic triumph, Nadeem had previously made history by becoming the first Asian to breach the 90-metre mark in javelin throw at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. With this historic win, he has etched his name in the annals of athletics and brought a moment of immense pride to Pakistan.
As for Neeraj Chopra, the silver medal may have felt like a bittersweet reward given the sky-high expectations, but it was nonetheless a momentous achievement, reinforcing his status as one of India’s most decorated athletes on the global stage.
With IANS reports
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