Neeraj Chopra secures silver in javelin despite slips, Arshad Nadeem smashes Olympic record to end Pakistan's 32-year medal drought

Neeraj Chopra wins silver medal in men's javelin at the Paris Olympics

Neeraj Chopra, the defending champion, had to be content with silver medal in the men's javelin throw finals at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. He secured a silver medal with a 89.45m throw, which was his only valid attempt out of six in the competition. This is India's fifth medal at the Olympics and its first silver. The highlight of the competition was Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who not only won the gold medal for his country but also smashed the Olympic record in the process. Arshad's massive throw of 92.97m in his second attempt set a new Olympic record and ended Pakistan's 40-year gold medal drought at the Summer Games. Pakistan's last Olympic medal itself was back in 1992, when the men's hockey team had secured the bronze. In fact, Arshad is the only the third person from the country to win an individual medal.

Neeraj looked confident before his first throw, but was disappointed with himself after the first attempt. He stumbled a bit after releasing the javelin and it was not considered a valid throw. Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago finished the first round on the top spot with a throw of 86.16m. Anderson Peters, who was placed second then was not far behind with an attempt of 84.70m. The second attempt saw Peters climb to top but not for very long. Peters touched 87.87m in his second attempt but it was Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who stole the show. Nadeem, who started with a foul attempt, recorded 92.97m throw in his second attempt, a distance enough to assure him gold.

Neeraj Chopra is excellence personified! Time and again he’s shown his brilliance. India is elated that he comes back with yet another Olympic success. Congratulations to him on winning the Silver. He will continue to motivate countless upcoming athletes to pursue their dreams… pic.twitter.com/XIjfeDDSeb

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— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 8, 2024

Neeraj, too, showed massive improvement in the second attempt and recorded 89.45m, which placed him second. The Indian, however, was still not happy with it, signalling to the crowd that he is alive in the competition. Nadeem then slipped to 88.72m in his third attempt. However, his enormous throw of 92.97 kept him in the gold medal position. Neeraj, on the other hand, struggled as his third attempt was not counted, with the javelin landing somewhere between 75-80m range.

Neeraj, who finished second after the eliminations, failed to find his mojo as round 4 began. His fourth attempt was once again a no throw, while Nadeem, who experimented with his runup, managed 79.40m.

Peters was not very far from Neeraj, with his fourth attempt being 88.54m, which took him to third. Neeraj continued to struggle as his fifth attempt turned out to be another no throw. Meanwhile, Arshad recorded 84.87 in his fifth attempt.

Neeraj counted for another no throw in his final attempt, a very rare moment in his stellar career. Nadeem, on the other hand, finished with yet another monstrous attempt, recording 91.79m this time.

After the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Neeraj for clinching the silver medal and said that he is "excellence personified".

"Neeraj Chopra is excellence personified! Time and again he’s shown his brilliance. India is elated that he comes back with yet another Olympic success. Congratulations to him on winning the Silver. He will continue to motivate countless upcoming athletes to pursue their dreams and make our nation proud," he said.