CONSISTENCY is Neeraj Chopra's thing. And he has used that plank to dominate javelin events at the highest levels for a few years.
It's why a silver, at least right now, felt like a disappointment.
One legal throw out of six seemed a little wayward by his standard. Yet, the 2021 Olympic and the reigning world champion is capable of astounding feats on the field.
Neeraj won India's fifth medal-silver here at the Olympics.
After fouling his first attempt, he needed courage to hurl the spear to a distance of 89.45m. He had already seen Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, World silver-medallist in 2023 behind Neeraj's gold, set a new Olympic record with a monstrous world lead of 92.97m. After Neeraj fell just short of the 90m mark, he turned around to his coach with a gesture with suggested 'cool down, cool down'.
It is not easy with so much pressure. Not just defending his gold but chasing more history-no individual Indian had ever won two Olympic gold.
Freak show
Nadeem, Neeraj's friend and colleague, can be called a freak.
This story is from the August 09, 2024 edition of The New Indian Express.
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This story is from the August 09, 2024 edition of The New Indian Express.
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