Abhijit Deshmukh at Stade de France
Javelin throw qualifications always take place in the morning, while the finals are held in the evening. That’s always the norm. After Neeraj qualified for the final, I asked him about the conditions during these sessions. It is a fairly normal question to ask. He mentioned that temperatures are generally lower in the evening compared to the morning and that the mindset for the finals is completely different. Gina’s are always different. To quote him, “Achaa Tagda competition hoga,” using the word “Tagda” to emphasize the strong field where many throwers met the direct qualification standard of 84m.
Before Thursday’s men’s javelin final, Neeraj had never thrown beyond 90m. And has had to answer this question a million times already as to when is it happening. His first attempt was over 85m, but dissatisfied with his score, he deliberately stepped over the line causing a foul. Minutes later, a crowd of over 80,000 erupted when Arshad Nadeem threw 92.97m in his second attempt, setting a new Olympic record. It was a Bob Beamon moment for Nadeem and eventually got him gold.
The stakes were high for Neeraj Chopra, who was defending his gold medal, with a Pakistani athlete now pushing him. Neeraj’s second throw reached 89.45m, his season’s best, placing him in the silver medal position but still not enough for gold. Historically, Neeraj has dominated competitions against Nadeem. His third, fourth, and fifth attempts were deliberate fouls, an unprecedented situation for Neeraj to be in. In his final attempt, Neeraj threw around 82m but crossed the line deliberately, resulting in another foul. Arshad Nadeem’s last throw was 91.79m, surpassing Neeraj’s best of 89.45m.
Neeraj won India’s fifth medal at the Paris Olympics, becoming the only Indian athlete to win two medals in athletics, a gold and a silver. And despite it not being his best night, he made sure all of India could live another day to celebrate.