- Sunday, February 23, 2025
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem managed an astonishing 92.97m in his second attempt to set the bar too high for the rest of the field
By: Shajil Kumar
DEFENDING champion Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two successive Olympic medals with a silver in men’s javelin throw, but the night belonged to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who set a new Olympic record and won the maiden individual gold for his country.
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.
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.
Chopra said he was largely thinking about his adductor niggle injury (a problem related to muscles in the thigh) when he was going for his throws.
“Whenever I throw, 60-70 percent focus is on injury. My runway was not good today, my speed was also low. Whatever I have done, I have done with this issue. I didn’t have time for surgery. I was just pushing myself,” Chopra said later.
“There is a lot left in me. I have to do that. I have that feeling that I can do it. Unless I achieve that, I won’t be at peace.”
“The doctor told me to go for surgery but I didn’t have that much time to take that decision before the world championship or after the world championship because it takes a lot of time to prepare for the Olympics,” he added, referring to the 2023 world championship where he won gold.
“It’s not good in sport, it’s not good to push and continue. If you want to run a long career then you have to be fit and healthy but there are competitions where you can’t make a decision. Now we will work on this and work on the technique,” he added.
Chopra said he will talk to his team and then “take a decision”.
Rare distinction
Nonetheless, Chopra became only the third Indian and the first in track and field to win back-to-back individual Olympic medals.
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.
Long-standing rivalry
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 this performance, the 27-year-old also extracted revenge of his loss to Chopra in the 2023 Budapest World Championships.
“I have been competing with Arshad since 2010 and lost to him for first time (today). It’s a sport, we have to accept it.
“We will try to maintain Asian supremacy till we have strength in our body. I have learnt that mindset is the biggest thing.”
It was not the first 90m effort from Nadeem, having thrown 90.18m to win gold in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
He is the second Asian to have thrown beyond 90m, the other being Chao-Tsun Cheng (91.36m in 2017) of Chinese Taipei.
Chopra did not take part in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games due to an injury.
Nadeem was to compete with Chopra in the Hangzhou Asian Games in October last year but pulled out at the last minute due to an injury.
He was beaten by Chopra in the 2018 Asian Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Nadeem had come into the Olympics with just one competition under his belt – an 84.21m throw at the Paris Diamond League last month.
Neeraj’s mother elated
Elated at her son’s silver medal, Neeraj Chopra’s mother Saroj Devi also expressed happiness for Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who beat the Indian defending champion in Paris, saying that the latter is also like her “child”.
“We are very happy with the silver, the one who got gold is also our child and the one who got silver is also our child….all are athletes, all work hard,” Saroj told PTI Videos in Khandra, Panipat, where the family is based.
“Nadeem is also good, he plays well, there is no difference between Neeraj and Nadeem. We got gold and silver there is no difference for us,” she added in the interview given on Thursday night.
Both Chopra nd Nadeem are good friends off the field despite being rivals on it.
She said that the family had an inkling that Chopra was unlikely to win a gold after Nadeem’s monstrous throw.
“After Nadeem’s throw (92.97m) we had a feeling (that he will win gold) but he is also our son, we are happy with him.
“He’s also Asia’s son. We don’t differentiate between Nadeem and Neeraj. Both have got gold and silver and we are very happy,” she added. (PTI)
