New Delhi, India
On late Thursday evening (Aug 8), the men's javelin final was held at the Paris Olympics 2024 edition. It saw Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem create history with a record-breaking throw at the showpiece event, 92.97m, as he won gold for his country -- first medal for the Asian nation in 32 years at the Olympics -- whereas India's poster boy Neeraj Chopra settled for silver (89.45m) and Grenada's Anderson Peters won bronze (88.54m).
Arshad, the 27-year-old, gave his all in the javelin final at Paris 2024 and became the first individual athlete from Pakistan to win gold at the Olympics. Post his historic win, Neeraj Chopra's mother Saroj Devi won hearts beyond borders with her heartfelt comments on Arshad. Talking to the reporters, she said, "We are very happy. For us, silver is also equal to gold. The one who got the gold is also like our son. He was injured, so we are happy with his performance. I will cook his favourite food."
Here is the heartfelt video of Neeraj's mother's comments:
#WATCH | Haryana: On Neeraj Chopra winning a silver medal in men's javelin throw at #ParisOlympics2024, his mother Saroj Devi says, "We are very happy, for us silver is also equal to gold...he was injured, so we are happy with his performance..." pic.twitter.com/6VxfMZD0rF
— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2024
Also read: WATCH: Arshad Nadeem in tears after winning gold with historic throw in Paris Olympics
After failing to defend his title at the Olympics, Neeraj said, "I have been competing against Arshad since 2016, but this is the first time I have lost to him. But credit where credit is due, Arshad has worked really hard, and he was better than I was at night. Congratulations to him." The Indian star also revealed that he won't be at peace until he achieves greater highs than his Paris feat.