Proud Moment for Asia! Neeraj Chopra's Father A Proud Man, Hails Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem Too
India's Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra won a historic maiden gold medal in the World Athletics Championships as Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem clinched silver.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships when he pipped Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem in the men’s javelin on Sunday with an 88.17-metre effort in the final.
Chopra won Olympic gold in Tokyo but managed only a silver at the worlds in Eugene last year. The only other Indian to win a medal at the worlds was Anju Bobby George, who took bronze in the women’s long jump in 2003 in Paris.
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Pakistan’s Nadeem, coming back from elbow surgery and a knee injury, produced his season’s best effort of 87.82 on his third attempt to win the silver medal, while the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch took the bronze with 86.67.
Neeraj Chopra’s father was a proud man after his son became the reigning the Olympic as well as the world champion.
“I was confident, he was confident too," Neeraj’s father was quoted as saying by India Today.
“Both (Neeraj and Nadeem) of them came up with a superb effort. If you look at it, all the javelin throwers share a very good rapport. They don’t think about their nationalities, they support each other. They always look to improve their performances.
“Even in the past, both of them (Arshad and Neeraj), this is a very proud moment for Asia," he added.
Chopra needed only one attempt in the qualification round to lead the field with a season-best 88.77 metres.
Under pressure, the 25-year-old then soared into the lead on his second attempt, turning his back and celebrating in trademark fashion with his arms aloft while pointing at the sky immediately after his throw, knowing it was good.
Nadeem was competing in his first event of the year and as soon as the javelin landed on his third attempt, he broke into a wide grin as he moved up to second.
India and Pakistan may have a heated rivalry in cricket but on a warm night in Budapest, all eyes were on two athletes competing for javelin gold.
But that was as close as Nadeem, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion, got to Chopra as he ran out of steam.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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