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Chopra had fouled in five of his six attempts and managed to clinch silver behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem with his only legal throw, measuring 89.45 metres. read more
 "Disappointed Chopra vows to work harder after winning silver in Paris Olympics")
Neeraj Chopra produced his season-best throw of 89.45m, but it wasn't enough for him to secure back-to-back gold medals in the Olympics. Reuters
Despite winning silver, Neeraj Chopra was disappointed with his performance in the Paris Olympics men’s javelin final and vowed to train harder and come back stronger.
Chopra, finished second on the podium, behind Pakistani rival and good friend Arshad Nadeem, with a best effort of 89.45 metres, slightly better than the 89.34m that he had thrown during the qualifying round to enter the final in just one attempt.
However, Chopra fouled five out of six times during Thursday’s final in front of a packed Stade de France in in Saint-Denis, Paris and thus secured the second spot with his only legal attempt.
Read | One season-best throw not enough as record-breaking Nadeem unseats Chopra from throne
“It was a good throw but I’m not that happy with my performance today. My technique and runway was not that good. (I managed) only one throw, the rest I fouled.
“(For my) second throw I believed in myself to think I can also throw that far. But in javelin, if your run is not so good, you can’t throw very far,” Neeraj said after the men’s javelin final on Thursday.
Chopra, who remains the reigning World and Asian Games champion, also felt frequent injuries in the last couple of years also hampered his preparations for the Paris Games.
“The last two or three years were not so good for me. I’m always injured. I really tried hard, but I have to work on my injury (staying injury-free) and technique.
“In training, I’m not doing a lot of throws because of my groin (injury). But I will work hard in future,” the Haryanvi athlete added.
Chopra also congratulated Nadeem, who smashed the Olympic record with a throw of 92.97m in his second attempt and became the first Pakistani athlete to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Nadeem also won Pakistan their first gold at the Olympics since the men’s hockey team had finished on top of the podium in Los Angeles 1984.
Read | ‘The icon never returns without bringing joy’, Netizens laud Chopra after he wins silver
“Today’s competition was really great. Arshad Nadeem threw really well. Congratulations to him and his country,” Chopra added.
Chopra missed out on becoming the first Indian to win multiple individual Olympic gold medals, having finished on top of the podium in Tokyo three years ago.
However, the 26-year-old’s feat of winning a gold and a silver at the Olympics as well as in the World Championships has already made him a strong contender for the tag of India’s greatest athlete of all time.
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English (US) ·