Paris: On Thursday night, Neeraj Chopra missed winning a gold medal and came second with a silver medal in the men’s javelin throw final in the Paris Olympics. The gold medal went to his good friend on the circuit, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who broke the Olympic Record in the men’s javelin throw final with a monster heave of 92.97 metres to upstage the Indian Tokyo Olympic Games gold medallist.
Anderson Peters of Granada took the bronze medal with a best throw of 88.54 metres.
Chopra’s hopes of winning a second successive gold medal to add to his first from Tokyo were dashed. Despite going into the final as the favourite with a brilliant effort of 89.34 metres in the qualifying, he fell short. His throw of 89.45, his second-best-ever attempt, was a clear improvement on the 87.58 that bagged him the gold medal in Tokyo.
Nadeem had finished fourth in Tokyo and had struggled with injuries and financial crunch in the interim period. His sensational effort of a gigantic throw of 92.97 put him at the top of the standings. He remained in that position, managing throws of 88,72, 79.40m, and 84.87m and then ended the competition with a throw of 91.79 metres, the second time somebody crossed the 90m mark twice in the Olympics, as he became Pakistan’s first gold medallist in individual competitions in the Olympics.
The final was a closely contested event, with each athlete getting six attempts to throw the javelin. The competition began with a foul from Chopra on his first attempt, and Nadeem also fouled his first throw. Trinidad’s Keshorn Walcott took the lead with a throw of 86.16m, while Anderson Peter was second at 84.70. This set the stage for a thrilling battle for the top spot.
The Indian star did not look convincing in his throws except on the second turn, his lone legal throw on the night.
Chopra still made history for India, becoming the second male Indian and third overall to win back-to-back medals in the Olympics after wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won bronze and silver in the 2008 and 2012 Games. PV Sindhu is the other Indian to win back-to-back medals—silver in 2016 and Tokyo.
Neeraj’s silver medal was India’s fifth medal in Paris, along with one silver and four bronze medals. The Indian has been struggling with injuries for the last couple of years, and it seems the effects are still there. The javelin throw event in the Paris Olympics was so tough that Julien Webber of Germany, the silver medallist at Tokyo, had to be satisfied with a sixth place.
Neeraj’s expectations were so high that the silver medal felt disappointing, but he could not do anything on Thursday as Nadeem was too good for everyone.
Nadeem virtually killed the competition on his second turn, unleashing a monster throw of 92.97, leaving everyone in the stadium stunned. With that throw, Nadeem broke the existing Olympic Record of Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, who threw 90.57 in Beijing 2008. It is also the sixth-best throw in the all-time list.
Chopra maintained the pressure on his friend and opponent with a throw of 89.45 in his second turn and moved to the second spot. The 26-year-old from Haryana had three foul throws in the next four turns, ending the Paris Olympics with a silver medal.
Nadeem’s win is not just a personal victory but a significant moment for Pakistan. He became the first Asian to breach the 90m mark in javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, a feat Chopra has never achieved. Nadeem’s win is a historic moment, marking the first individual gold medal for Pakistan in the Olympics, a country that has previously won only three gold medals, all in hockey.
It’s important to note the rarity of individual medals for Pakistan. Only two Pakistanis have won individual medals, both bronze, in the history of the Olympics. Muhammad Bashir won in Men’s freestyle welterweight wrestling in 1960, and boxer Hussain Shah won in Men’s middleweight in 1988 in Seoul. Nadeem’s gold medal is a significant addition to this short list.
The men’s hockey team won Pakistan’s last Olympic medal, a bronze in Barcelona in 1992. Nadeem ended a 32-year drought for an Olympic medal for Pakistan. The country won its last gold medal in hockey in 1984 in Los Angeles.
–IANS
