Neeraj Chopra Did What No Indian Had: Became the Country’s Most Successful Olympian; Made History with This Feat

Neeraj Chopra, the star Indian javelin thrower who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, has made history once again at the Paris Olympics 2024. By securing a silver medal in Paris, he has also set an incredible record.

In addition to facing tough competition from Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, Germany’s Julian Weber, and Grenada’s former world champion Anderson Peters, Neeraj also had to contend with a formidable challenge from Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.

Neeraj Chopra’s Season Best Throw, Arshad Breaks Olympic Record

Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal with a javelin throw of 89.45 meters, which is his best throw of the season. Earlier, during the qualification round of the Paris Olympics, Neeraj had thrown 89.34 meters. Meanwhile, Arshad Nadeem set a new Olympic record.

Arshad Breaks Olympic Record with 92.97 Meters Throw, Wins Gold

Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal with a record-breaking throw of 92.97 meters, setting a new Olympic record. He surpassed the previous record held by Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen, who had thrown 90.57 meters at the Beijing Olympics on August 23, 2008.

Neeraj Chopra Makes History as the First Indian with Consecutive Olympic Medals

With this medal, 26-year-old Neeraj Chopra has set a historic record as the first Indian to win both gold and silver in individual events across two consecutive Olympics. Previously, Abhinav Bindra won gold for India in shooting at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, but he did not secure another medal after that.

Had Neeraj won gold, he would have become the fifth person in Olympic history and the first Indian to maintain such a title. Additionally, he could have been the first Indian to win two gold medals in individual events at the Olympics. However, he missed this record.

Neeraj Chopra is now the third Indian athlete to win medals in two consecutive Olympics, following wrestler Sushil Kumar and badminton player P.V. Sindhu.

Moreover, Neeraj Chopra has become the first Indian athlete to win consecutive Olympic medals in athletics since independence.

Four Legends Who Achieved This Feat

So far, the athletes who have achieved the feat of defending their javelin title at the Olympics are:

• Eric Lemming (Sweden, 1908 and 1912)
• Johnny Meyer (Finland, 1920 and 1924)
• Jan Železný (Czech Republic, 1992 and 1996)
• Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway, 2004 and 2008)

This year, before the Olympics, Neeraj Chopra had participated in only three events, but his competitors did not perform as well. Chopra had thrown 88.36 meters at the Doha Diamond League in May, while he did not compete at the Ostrava Golden Spike on May 28 due to a precautionary withdrawal caused by discomfort.

Neeraj Chopra Makes a Comeback After Injury

After recovering from an injury, Neeraj Chopra made a remarkable return. In June, he won gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland with a throw of 85.97 meters. Following this, he did not participate in the Paris Diamond League on July 7. 

His coach dismissed concerns about his fitness, stating that there were no longer any issues with his adductor and that he was undergoing rigorous practice.