New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra ended India’s long wait for an Olympic gold medal in the track and field events. Chopra came up with the best throw of 87.58m to clinch the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
But here’s the twist in the story as just before the final event Chopra wasn’t able to find his javelin. Yes, he wasn’t able to find his javelin for his first attempt, and guess what his javelin was with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.
Call it a conspiracy or a big controversy but Neeraj Chorpa himself revealed this moment and somehow it was also caught on the camera during the live telecast.
Watch here:
Arshad Nadeem caught tampering with @Neeraj_chopra1 Javelin in the @Olympics final. pic.twitter.com/8isNbGQw6Z
— Jangra_jee (@jangra_jee) August 25, 2021
“The story is that I was searching for my javelin at the start of the final. I was not able to find it. Suddenly I saw Arshad Nadeem was moving around with my javelin. Then I told him, ‘Bhai give this javelin to me, it is my javelin! I have to throw with it’. Then he gave it back to me,” Neeraj Chopra told TOI in an interview.
“That’s why you must have seen I took my first throw hurriedly! Arshad Nadeem gave a really good performance in the qualifying round as well as the final. I think it is good for Pakistan, they have a chance to show more interest in javelin and do well at the international stage in the future,” Chopra further added.
When asked about his opinion on all the appreciation and attention that Olympians have received during the Tokyo Olympics, the 23-year old stated in an earnest manner, “Aisa nahin hona chahiye ki ab medal aa gaya toh sab abhi kar do, aur phir ek mahiney baad sab shaant ho jao (it shouldn’t be as if we have to complete every celebration immediately because an Olympic gold medal has come, and then forget about it after a month). The sport needs continuous attention. These things need to change. It’s a nice thing that a medal has come but everything needs to be systematic”.
