Finance
Neeraj Chopra’s chances of winning a second consecutive gold medal to go with his first from Tokyo were dashed, as the Indian had to settle for a silver medal in the men’s javelin throw final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday night.
Chopra, who entered the final as the favourite after a stunning throw of 89.34 metres in qualifying, threw the javelin to 89.45, his second-best career effort and a significant improvement on the 87.58 that won him gold in Tokyo. But that wasn’t enough for the reigning World Champion and Diamond League final winner, as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, a close buddy on the circuit, outperformed him by setting an Olympic record to earn gold.
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan shattered the Olympic record in the men’s javelin throw final with a monster heave of 92.97 meters, defeating the Indian gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympic Games. Nadeem had finished fourth in Tokyo and had struggled with ailments and financial constraints in the interim period.
But on Thursday, Nadeem made a spectacular attempt to win the gold.
That massive throw of 92.97 put Nadeem at the top of the standings, and he maintained that position with throws of 88.72, 79.40m, and 84.87m before finishing the competition with a throw of 91.79 metres, only the second time someone crossed the 90m mark twice in the Olympics, as he became Pakistan’s first gold medalist in individual competitions at the Olympics.
Anderson Peters of Grenada won the bronze medal with a best throw of 88.54 meters.
Chopra fouled on his first attempt in the final, as did Nadeem, while Trinidad’s Keshorn Walcott led with a throw of 86.16m and Anderson Peter was second at 84.70.
The Indian star did not appear convincing in all of his throws until on the second turn, which was his only legal throw of the night.
Chopra nevertheless made history for India, becoming the second male Indian and third overall to win two Olympic medals in a row, following wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won bronze and silver in the 2008 and 2012 Games. PV Sindhu is the other Indian who won back-to-back medals – silver in 2016 and Tokyo,
Neeraj’s silver medal was India’s fifth medal in Paris one silver and four bronze medals. The Indian has been struggling with injuries for the last couple of years and it seems the effects are still there. The javelin throw event in the Paris Olympics was so tough that Julien Webber of Germany, the silver medallist at Tokyo, had to be satisfied with a sixth place.
But the expectations from him were so high that the silver medal felt disappointing, but Neeraj could not do anything on Thursday as Nadeem was too good for everyone on Thursday.
But Nadeem virtually killed the competition on his second turn, unleashing a monster throw of 92.97 leaving everyone in the stadium stunned. With that throw, Nadeem broke the existing Olympic Record of Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, who threw 90.57 in Beijing 2008. It is also the sixth-best throw in the all-time list.
Chopra continued the pressure on his friend and opponent in his second round, throwing 89.45 and moving into second place. The 26-year-old from Haryana made three foul throws in the next four revolutions to finish the Paris Olympics with a silver medal.
Nadeem became the first Asian to throw the javelin over 90 meters at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Chopra has never run more than 90 metres. Nadeem won Pakistan’s first individual gold medal in the Olympics, as the country has only won three gold medals in total, all in hockey.
Only two Pakistanis have won individual medals: Muhammad Bashir in Men’s freestyle welterweight wrestling in 1960 and boxer Hussain Shah in Men’s middleweight in 1988 in Seoul, both bronze.
Pakistan’s men’s hockey team won its last Olympic medal, a bronze in Barcelona in 1992. Nadeem is aiming to erase Pakistan’s 32-year Olympic medal drought. The country last won a gold medal in hockey in 1984, in Los Angeles.
Source:IANS
