Neeraj Chopra Proud Despite Silver: Eyes on Gold for Next Olympics

Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who clinched a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, has expressed his pride in representing India on the podium once again. Although Chopra fell short of retaining his gold medal, securing silver with a throw of 89.45 meters, he remains resolute and optimistic about his future performance.

In a heartfelt post on his official X handle, Chopra reflected on his achievement and shared his commitment to improving. He wrote, “Felt really good on winning another medal for India at the Olympics. Our national anthem could not be played in Paris this time, but my hard work in the coming days will be for that moment. Very proud to be on the podium for India once again at the Olympic Games. Thank you for the love and support. Jai Hind.”

Chopra’s silver medal performance was edged out by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who won gold with a throw of 92.97 meters, setting a new Olympic record and surpassing Denmark’s Andreas Thorkildsen’s mark from Beijing 2008. Grenada’s Anderson Peters secured the bronze with a throw of 88.54 meters.

During the qualification rounds, Chopra had achieved a throw of 89.34 meters, his second-best all-time throw. Despite a competitive rivalry with Nadeem—where Chopra had previously led 9-0 in head-to-head matchups—Nadeem’s throw of 90.18 meters at the 2022 Commonwealth Games had surpassed Chopra’s top effort.

Following his performance, Chopra admitted dissatisfaction, citing a lack of optimal technique and runway issues. He explained, “It was a good throw, but I am not that happy with my performance today. My technique and runway were not that good. (I managed) only one throw, the rest I fouled.” He further noted, “In javelin, if your run is not so good, you cannot throw very far.”

The 26-year-old athlete, also the current Asian Games champion, acknowledged that recent years have been challenging due to injuries. Chopra revealed, “The last two or three years were not so good for me. I am always injured. I really tried hard, but I have to work on staying injury-free and improving my technique.”

Looking ahead, Chopra is determined to refine his skills and return stronger, with the goal of capturing gold in the next Olympic Games.