New Delhi: Having won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj Chopra has become a national sensation. But everything wasn’t so perfect for India’s first track-and-field Olympics gold medalist. Just before the final event, the Chopra’s could not find his javelin because Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem had walked away with it.
“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.
We have a warhorse ( ? King Klaus) , we have a spearman (@Neeraj_chopra1), and we have a poster for the next superhit series: Game of Throws ? https://t.co/H3nkRBKxHZ pic.twitter.com/G1qIF7HQDf
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 24, 2021
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”.
