Neeraj Chopra earned his silver medal at the Paris Olympics fair and square. But this is not a proper representation of how the javelin finals unfolded at Paris. Neeraj became the only athlete to throw in the 89 meter mark, but Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem was miles ahead of him. In fact with 5 out of 6 throws by Neeraj was illegal showcased under how much pressure the Indian star was in.
Neeraj Chopra headed into the final as the favourite to clinch the gold. He had already set the benchmark with a powerful 89.34 m throw which was his then Season’s best. None of the others could reach the 89 m mark as Neeraj flexed in the qualifiers to prove his dominace.
Bowed Down to Pressure
But on the day of the final, destiny had something else on store for Neeraj. He started poorly with a foul throw. Eager to set precedence, he tried to unleash his full power but dived and crossed the white line, earning him a foul throw. Still no damage was done as Arshad Nadeem too inflicted a foul throw on his first attempt.
But the tides of war changed in the second throw. Arshad Nadeem shattered the Olympics record with a monstrous 92.97m throw. Neeraj Chopra was visually puzzled but he quickly regained composure. He too wanted to prove his worth and then threw a perfect throw. 89.45, his season’s best and his personal second best.
This throw was enough to secure his silver medal, and in the end it did. But the damage was done. Neeraj charged up the crowd, doing the Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous ‘Calma Calma’ sign, but it failed to pay any dividends. Desperate to retain his gold, Neeraj was ready to do the unthinkable.
He was ready to clock 93 m, in fact that was what was needed to beat Nadeem. But Neeraj was under immense pressure. First he had to win a gold for his country and second he had to retain his gold title. Following which his fourth throw was also a foul one.
Perhaps the best of the lot came in the 5th throw. Neeraj executed the throw to perfection but touched the white line. Reports claim that the throw might have clocked 93.18 m which would have been enough to take the gold. Neeraj was extremely distraught after the throw as he vented out his frustration by shouting.
The last throw was again a foul. Meanwhile Arshad Nadeem clocked a 91.79 m throw to ensure his safety and win the gold.
