Neeraj Chopra won the hearts of fans with his gesture and he apologised to the crowd for not winning a gold medal. The Tokyo Olympics gold medalist entered the javelin throw final as the favourite but he finished second to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.
During an address, Neeraj apologised to the fans and said: “There’s nothing much to say, but I’ve brought something to show you all, sorry, like last time, there was no national anthem was played, what I had thought, didn’t happen but medal is medal, I had worked hard and winning a medal for the country and taking a lap of the track with the flag, that’s a different feeling altogether.”
Neeraj Chopra ने कहाँ Gold Medal सोचा कर आया था लेकिन Medal तो medal होता है 🇮🇳❤️ pic.twitter.com/LAcObqtYcO
— Pooja Bishnoi (@poojabishnoi36) August 10, 2024
He finished the competition with another 90m throw but his second attempt was enough for him to finish at the top spot. Neeraj’s only legal throw was enough for him to secure a silver medal.
At the Paris Olympics, it was the first time when Arshad defeated Neeraj head-to-head competitions. The Indian javelin thrower still has a lead of 9-1 over Arshad.
