The sons won the Olympic medals but their mothers won the hearts of Indian and Pakistani fans.
Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem and India's Neeraj Chopra, the javelin stars who secured the top two spots at the Paris Olympics, are famous for their fierce rivalry on the field and their strong friendship off it. Now, the heartfelt remarks from their mothers underpinned the feeling of mutual respect that unites fans on both sides of the border.
Neeraj Chopra's mother Saroj Devi on Friday said that Pakistan's Nadeem is also like her son after he secured a gold medal at the summer games and bested her son in the javelin final.
"We are very happy. For us, silver is also equal to gold. The one who got the gold is also like our son," she told the media after Neeraj secured another medal.
The motherly sentiment, even for Neeraj's rival, garnered praise from both Indian and Pakistani fans on social media. Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhar said that such a statement can only be made by a mother. "Gold jis ka hai, wo bhi hamara he ladka hai". Yeh baat sirf aik maa he keh sakti hai. Amazing. (The person who won gold, he is also our son. This can only be said by a mother. Amazing.)," tweeted Akhtar.
Hours later, Nadeem's mother echoed similar sentiments, saying that Neeraj is also like her son.
"Neeraj Chopra is like a son to me. He is Nadeem's friend and brother as well. I prayed for him too," she was quoted as saying by a local Urdu channel.
The heartfelt remarks by the two mothers embodied the bond shared by the two athletes, who have emerged as national icons with their Olympic achievements.
After winning a historic gold medal for his country on Thursday, Nadeem had said that his rivarly with Chopra has captivated fans from both the countries.
“There’s no doubt about the cricket rivalry. Now this javelin is also there,” Nadeem said through a translator. “People back home in Pakistan and even in India, they were eager to see us both throwing the javelin and beating each other. I’m happy to see Chopra earning silver.”
On Thursday, Nadeem set a new Olympic record with a monstrous throw of 92.97 meters (305 feet) in his second attempt, smashing the old mark of 90.57 set by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway in 2008.
Chopra, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, had to settle for silver this time with a throw of 89.45 meters, a season best. Anderson Peters of Grenada took the bronze at 88.54.
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