Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who earned a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, said on Friday that while he gave his best, it was Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem’s day to win gold. Chopra said it was time to assess his performance and focus on future improvements.
“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,” Chopra told ANI.
Chopra said that the competition was tough and that every athlete has their day, adding, “Today was Arshad’s day. I gave my best, but some things need to be addressed and worked on.”
He expressed confidence in India’s future Olympic prospects, saying, “India played well (at the Paris Olympics). Our national anthem may not have been played today, but it will be heard in the future.”
Chopra won silver with a best throw of 89.45 meters at the Paris Olympics. His best throw came on his second attempt, but four consecutive fouls hindered his chances of winning gold.
Following his performance, Chopra became the second male athlete post-independence to win two Olympic medals in an individual event.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won gold with a throw of 92.97 meters, setting a new Olympic record and surpassing Denmark’s Andreas Thorkildsen’s mark from Beijing 2008. Grenada’s Anderson Peters secured bronze with a throw of 88.54 meters.
Earlier, Chopra had achieved a throw of 89.34 meters in the Group B qualification round, his second-best all-time throw. Despite a competitive rivalry with Nadeem, where Chopra led 9-0 in their head-to-head matchups, Nadeem’s throw of 90.18 meters at the 2022 Commonwealth Games exceeded Chopra’s top effort.