Paris Olympics 2024 : Neeraj Chopra sealed the silver medal for his country in the men’s javelin final at the Paris Olympics, bringing all of India together in beaming delight. Social media was inundated with congratulations against the great show put up by Chopra at the global event. Members of the Indian film fraternity also showered warm wishes for the athlete.
Actor Vicky Kaushal took to Instagram Stories and wrote, “Season best performance. You always make us proud brother Neeraj Chopra.” R. Madhavan congratulated Neeraj but also lauded the achievement of Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem for the gold medal in the same event.
“What a game, man. Kudos to the Olympic record, Arshad Nadeem, and to silver medal, Neeraj Chopra. Today, sports itself won,” Madhavan wrote in his Instagram post. Actress Rakul Preet Singh dropped her word: “Woohoo! Neeraj, you did it again. Congratulations on your second Olympic medal. India beams with pride.”
Neeraj’s best throw came on his second attempt, but four consecutive foul throws hindered his chances of winning gold. His first and third attempts were disqualified by red flags, and his last three attempts were also marked as fouls.
Despite the strong qualification round, which he closed out with a throw of 89.34 meters, Chopra couldn’t do better than his season’s best in the final. His 89.45-meter throw was his second-best performance but fell short of retaining the gold.
Chopra looked clearly under pressure before his throws. Though he was red-flagged for his fifth throw, even his sixth and final attempt was ruled out.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem clinched the gold with a record throw of 92.97 meters, outperforming the earlier Olympic record set by Denmark’s Andreas Thorkildsen at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Speaking to ANI after the event, Neeraj Chopra said, “We all feel happy whenever we win a medal for the country. It’s time to improve the game now. We will sit and discuss and enhance our performance.”
Fully aware that the competition wasn’t easy, Chopra added, “Today was Arshad’s day. I gave my best, but there are things to work on.” Yet he was hopeful of India’s future Olympic prospects, stating, “India played well at the Paris Olympics. Our national anthem may not have been played today but it will be heard in the future.”
The Indian contingent in Paris so far has five medals.
