On Thursday night at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Neeraj Chopra etched his name in history yet again, though the evening didn’t fully belong to India’s Golden Boy. Neeraj, who had been aiming for a second consecutive gold in men’s javelin—a feat accomplished only four times in Olympic history—found himself battling more than just his competitors. A persistent groin injury limited the 26-year-old to just one valid throw, with frustration clearly bubbling over in a rare display of anger during his penultimate attempt.
Earlier in the week, Neeraj had dominated the qualification round, delivering a season-best and second-best career throw of 89.43m, securing his spot at the top of the field. However, his final campaign began on a shaky note with a foul throw. The competition intensified when Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem shattered the Olympic record with a throw of 92.97m on his second attempt. In response, Neeraj delivered his only valid attempt in the final, a new season-best of 89.45m, securing second place on the leaderboard.
Despite his best efforts, Neeraj’s desperation to breach the elusive 90m mark and challenge Nadeem’s lead was evident. Unfortunately, his body struggled to comply, resulting in five foul throws out of six as he consistently crossed the throwing arc. The frustration boiled over during his penultimate throw, where Neeraj, after his leg crossed the line, shouted twice in anger—a rare display from the usually composed athlete.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-media-max-width=”560″><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Neeraj Chopra is frustrated. Its over i guess settle for silver medal <a href=”https://t.co/FIurt2R7Ag”>pic.twitter.com/FIurt2R7Ag</a></p>— Royal Challenger (@rcb__fc) <a href=”https://twitter.com/rcb__fc/status/1821630798963122641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
After the competition, Neeraj spoke candidly to the media, acknowledging the toll his injury had taken on his performance. “It was because of an injury (groin strain). I wanted to express myself and throw, but it wasn’t happening. It was the Olympic stage, but the throw was still good. I managed only one legal throw. All others were fouls. When Arshad threw 92.97m, I believed in my mind that I could do it (90m) today. It didn’t happen today. Let’s see when it will happen. But the competition was very intense and exciting. Winning a medal for my country makes me happy,” he said.
Neeraj’s achievement makes him India’s first track-and-field athlete to win back-to-back Olympic medals and only the fifth Indian to have two Olympic medals, joining the ranks of Norman Pritchard, Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu, and Manu Bhaker.
