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Neeraj Chopra unhappy with silver at Paris Olympics Javelin throw, vows to work harder
Says fitness and technique needs work after settling for silver medal, behind Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem
Neeraj Chopra before the Paris 2024 Olympics javelin finals. / instagram.com/OlympicKhel
Tokyo 2020 champion Neeraj Chopra had to settle for the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Aug. 8, despite delivering the second-best throw of his career.
Chopra achieved only one valid throw of 89.45 meters out of six attempts in the final, finished behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who claimed the gold with an Olympic record-breaking 92.97-meter throw.
“It was a good throw but I’m not that happy with my performance today,” Neeraj said after the event. “My technique and runway was not that good. (I managed) only one throw, the rest I fouled.“(For my) second throw I believed in myself to think I can also throw that far. But in javelin, if your run is not so good, you can’t throw very far,” he added, with his medal-winning throw coming on his second attempt.
That javelin goes travelin' again!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 9, 2024
Congratulations, @Neeraj_chopra1, on winning the first silver for India at #Paris2024.
You didn’t just win a medal; you won 1.4 billion hearts, once again. Keep soaring higher!#Olympics pic.twitter.com/8iMQSD3iCV
The Indian star, who is also the reigning world and Asian Games champion, pointed out that persistent injuries leading up to Paris 2024 affected his preparations for defending his title.
“The last two or three years were not so good for me. I’m always injured. I really tried hard, but I have to work on my injury (staying injury-free) and technique,” the 26-year-old said.
Neeraj’s preparation for Paris 2024 was particularly hindered by adductor muscle issues, which led him to miss the Ostrava Golden Spike and other events.
He had mentioned earlier that these adductor problems have been a challenge for several years and that he plans to seek medical advice about them once his Paris 2024 campaign is over.
“In training, I’m not doing a lot of throws because of my groin (injury). But I will work hard in future,” he revealed.
Neeraj ended with a congratulatory note for his competitor and friend Arshad Nadeem.
“Today’s competition was really great. Arshad Nadeem threw really well. Congratulations to him and his country,” he said.
Nadeem’s gold was the first individual Olympic gold for Pakistan and the country’s first medal since Barcelona 1992. The previous Olympic record was 90.57 metres, set by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway during the 2008 Beijing Games.
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