GUWAHATI: In an event filled with surprises, the men's javelin throw at the Paris Olympics 2024 concluded on Thursday, 8 August. Neeraj Chopra, India's javelin star, missed the chance to secure a second consecutive Olympic gold medal, despite achieving the second-best throw of his career at 89.45 meters on his second attempt.
Nonetheless, Chopra became only the third Indian and the first in track and field to win back-to-back individual Olympic medalsj with a silver in men's javelin throw .
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, however, dominated the event by surpassing the 90-meter mark twice, setting a new Olympic record.
At 26, Chopra becomes the fifth Indian to win multiple Olympic medals, adding a silver to his gold from Tokyo 2020. He joins the ranks of Norman Pritchard, Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu, and Manu Bhaker, the latter having won two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Arshad Nadeem's remarkable throw of 92.97 meters on his second attempt set a new Olympic record, securing the gold medal for Pakistan. This marks Pakistan's first Olympic medal since 1992 in Barcelona. Nadeem's final throw of 91.79 meters would also have broken the previous Olympic record held by Denmark's Andreas Thorkildsen (90.57 meters in Beijing 2008) if not for his earlier, record-setting performance.