We’re proud of Chopra for his achievement, not disheartened at all, says family

New Delhi: Superstar javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s family members are not at all disheartened that he couldn’t defend his Olympics gold and instead said that they were proud of his feat of winning a second consecutive medal for the country.

Chopra became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two successive Olympic medals with a silver in men’s javelin throw in the Paris Games but Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem destroyed the competition by setting a new Olympic record for his country’s maiden individual gold at the showpiece.

Nadeem managed an astonishing 92.97m in his second attempt to set the bar too high for the rest of the field, including Chopra, who seemed under pressure and managed just one legitimate throw — the silver-winning 89.45m in the second round.

It was the season’s best effort from the Indian, topping his qualification throw of 89.34m, but nowhere close to being enough for the gold.

“The environment is joyful in the entire nation, We are very happy that we have won silver medal. This is the hard work of that boy and the nation’s blessing is with him that he won medal for the second time,” said Chopra’s father Satish Kumar. His mother Saroj Devi added: “He (Neeraj Chopra) has done very well and we will give him a grand welcome upon his return. He loves churma, so, we will make it for him.” Chopra’s aunt Kamlesh also lauded his effort.

“We are extremely happy, he (Neeraj Chopra) did his best despite the tough competition. It’s not about winning a gold or silver, but about winning a medal, and he did his best,” she said.