Neeraj vows to return stronger: 'There's a lot left in me'

Neeraj Chopra failed to defend his crown and had to settle for silver in the men’s Javelin Throw at the Olympics in Paris on Thursday.

He was upstaged by Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who set a new Olympic record while earning his country its maiden individual gold medal at the quadrennial extravaganza.

Nadeem cleared an astonishing 92.97 metres on his second throw to set the bar too high for the rest of the field, including Chopra, who seemed under pressure and registered just one legitimate throw of 89.45m in his second visit to finish second.

It was the season's best effort from the Indian, topping his qualification throw of 89.34m, but nowhere close for gold.

Chopra said he was largely thinking about his injury (adductor niggle) when he was going for his throws.

"Whenever I throw, 60-70 percent focus is on injury. My runway was not good today, my speed was also low. Whatever I have done, I have done with this issue. I didn't have time for surgery. I was just pushing myself," said Chopra after the event.

"There is a lot left in me. I have to do that. I have that feeling that I can do it. Unless I achieve that, I won't be at peace."

Nonetheless, Chopra became only the third Indian and the first in track and field to win back-to-back individual Olympic medals. Only wrestler Sushil Kumar (2008 and 2012) and shuttler PV Sindhu (2016 and 2021) have won back-to-back Olympic medals.

Chopra, who had never lost to Nadeem in 10 earlier meetings, vowed to come back stronger.

"I have been competing with Arshad since 2010 and lost to him for the first time. It's a sport, we have to accept it.

"We will try to maintain Asian supremacy till we have strength in our body. I have learnt that mindset is the biggest thing," he added.

The earlier Olympic record was 90.57m, in the name of Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, set during the 2008 Beijing Games.

Thorkildsen was watching the proceedings from the stands, along with three-time Olympic champion and World record (98.48m) holder Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic.

Grenada's Anderson Peters grabbed the last podium place with an effort of 88.54m while Czech Republic's Yakub Vadlejch finished fourth (88.50m) and was followed by Kenya's Julius Yego (SB 87.72).

As many as seven athletes went beyond the 86m mark as the competitive field saw three season's best and an Olympic record.

Keshorn Walcot (86.16) from Trinidad and Tobago also celebrated his season's best show to finish seventh in the 12-man field.

• THE OLYMPICS, 2024