Neeraj Chopra’s father, Satish Kumar, was proud of his son’s remarkable effort that saw him script history at the Paris Olympics after clinching the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw final at Stade de France.

When stakes were high in one of the biggest sporting events, it was Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem who raised the bar by breaking the Olympic Record with a mammoth throw in front of a jam-packed crowd.

Neeraj delivered his season-best attempt of 89.45m, but it wasn’t close to Arshad’s humongous throw of 92.97 meters.

Before the Paris Olympics, Neeraj had a fair share of trouble with injuries. The groin injury that haunted him in 2023 and forced him to miss the Commonwealth Games returned early in May after he felt discomfort in his adductor.

Satish, who was proud after witnessing Neeraj’s performance and felt it was Pakistan’s day in the men’s javelin throw final, felt that his injury had a role in his performance.

“Everyone has their day. Today was Pakistan’s day. But we have won silver, and it is a proud thing for us. I think his groin injury had a part in his performance,” Satish told ANI.

His father believes that Neeraj’s success in Paris will serve as an inspiration for the next generation.

“He has won silver for the country. We are happy and proud. All the youths will get inspired by him,” Satish told reporters.

A big screen was arranged for people from Neeraj’s neighbourhood, and people turned up in numbers to see Neeraj perform in Paris.

Following his triumph, sweets were distributed among people, and crackers were burst to celebrate India’s first silver and overall fifth at the Paris Olympics.

Neeraj’s mother Saroj Devi was happy with the way his son delivered in the Summer Games and is eager to cook her son’s favourite meal.

“We are very happy. For us, silver is also equal to gold. The one who got the gold is also like our son. He was injured, so we are happy with his performance. I will cook his favourite food,” she said.

#WATCH | Haryana: On Neeraj Chopra winning a silver medal in men’s javelin throw at #ParisOlympics2024, his mother Saroj Devi says, “We are very happy, for us silver is also equal to gold…he was injured, so we are happy with his performance…” pic.twitter.com/6VxfMZD0rF

— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2024

Neeraj’s grandfather, Dharm Singh Chopra, also reacted to his grandson’s win and said, “He has given his best performance and won silver, adding one more medal to the country.”

To defend his Tokyo gold medal, Neeraj had to do what he still has to achieve in his career, breaching the 90m mark.

After Arshad sent shockwaves throughout the athletics community with an Olympic Record effort of 92.97m, Neeraj had to dig deep and pull out his biggest performance ever.

However, he struggled to find his groove and registered a single legal attempt out of six, which turned out to be his season-best attempt.

Arshad effortlessly sent his javelin past the 90m mark to deliver one of the greatest track and field performances in the history of the Olympics. He broke the Olympic record in his second attempt and capped off his impressive display with a remarkable throw of 91.79m to take away the gold.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Defending champion Neeraj Chopra might have done his absolute best but it was not enough for him to bag his second Olympics gold medal in a row, as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem took the yellow metal with a record-breaking effort. Yet, Neeraj became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two successive Olympic medals with a silver in men’s javelin throw. Nadeem managed an astonishing 92.97m in his second attempt to set the bar too high for the rest of the field, including Chopra, who seemed under pressure and managed just one legitimate throw — the silver-winning 89.45m in the second round.

Speaking to NDTV after the men’s javelin throw final, Neeraj admitted that god’s blessing was more with Arshad on the day, hence he took the gold medal.

“He produced an excellent throw. In sports, sometimes it’s your day, sometimes it’s someone else’s. Maybe god’s blessings were more with Arshad today. I tried my best and I am happy with the distance I managed to throw,” Neeraj said.

It was the season’s best effort from the Indian, topping his qualification throw of 89.34m, but nowhere close to being enough for gold.

On a candid note, Neeraj was also asked about the things he would like to eat now that his Olympics journey has concluded. But, having been in sports for so long, Neeraj said that he is past cravings.

“Since I have been in sports for a long time, I no longer crave for things. But yes, since I will return home, of course I’ll get to eat home-cooked food. As far as performances go, everyone here did great. I am happy that I won a medal for my country. Whatever little I couldn’t do, I would try and work on it for the next time,” he responded.

Neeraj also enjoyed the immense crowd support in Paris, contrary to the Tokyo Games where the stadiums were mostly empty.

“I personally love crowds a lot. In Tokyo, the stadiums were empty but there, there were a lot of people. I enjoy crowd pressure and feel it gets the best out of me. I had belief in myself for the final, but I think this (silver medal) is what was written in my destiny,” he said.

Only wrestler Sushil Kumar (2008 and 2012) and shuttler PV Sindhu (2016 and 2021) have won back-to-back Olympic medals.

The earlier Olympic record stood at 90.57m in the name of Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, set during the 2008 Beijing Games.

Thorkildsen was watching the proceedings from the stands, along with three-time Olympic champion and world record (98.48m) holder Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic.

Grenada’s Anderson Peters grabbed the last podium place with an effort of 88.54m while Czech Republic’s Yakub Vadlejch finished fourth (88.50m) and was followed by Kenya’s Julius Yego (SB 87.72).

As many as seven athletes went beyond the 86m mark as the competitive field saw three season’s best and an Olympic record.

Keshorn Walcot (86.16) from Trinidad and Tobago also celebrated his season’s best show to finish seventh in the 12-man field.

Before tonight, Chopra had never lost to Nadeem in their 10 earlier meetings.

Nadeem’s monster throw — sixth longest in history — also came in his second attempt which was like a bolt from the blue that stunned the Stade de France.

With PTI Inputs