Olympics 2024: Neeraj Chopra won silver.© AFP
Neeraj Chopra, the first Indian to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics, maintained his consistency to bring home a silver medal from the Paris Olympics 2024. He threw a season best 89.45m in the men's javelin throw event but fell short of the gold medal after Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem threw an Olympic record 92.97m in his second attempt. Neeraj Chopra's father Satish Kumar was asked about whether his son was under pressure after Nadeem's monstrous throw.
"You cannot call that pressure. Everyone has his day. Today's day was lucky for Arshad. He fought well. 12 countries were competing and Pakistan was the best today. We have won back-to-back medals in Olympics, it is a great thing. We are giving proper fight to other countries. As far as pressure is concerned, I think the groin injury affected his performance," Neeraj's father Satish Kumar said.
"Neeraj fought form his country. He brought home silver. Till now we were winning bronze, he brought home silver from Paris. We should all be happy. May be his groin injury hampered him."
#WATCH | Haryana: On Neeraj Chopra winning a silver medal in men's javelin throw at #ParisOlympics2024, his father Satish Kumar says, "Everyone has their day, today was Pakistan's day...But we have won silver, and it is a proud thing for us..." pic.twitter.com/YQNpdTDYzg
— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2024
Earlier in July, a PTI report quoted Chopra telling ESPN that there was an issue with his leg.
"I need to strengthen my blocking leg when I throw because that's when my groin gets pulled. We're working on that to see how we can reduce the impact on the groin and control the pressure on it," he said. Neeraj added that he would consult doctors after the Paris Games.
Though Neeraj missed out on the gold medal in the Paris Games, he became the first Indian track & field athlete to win medals in two consecutive Olympics.