Lucknow. India’s javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra, who missed out on winning the gold medal in the Paris Olympics, said that there was no flaw in his performance but that day belonged to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem who defeated him and became the champion. Chopra scored 89 in the final held on August 8. Won silver medal by throwing 45 meter javelin but Nadeem created a new Olympic record by throwing 92 meters in the first attempt. Won the gold medal by throwing a throw of 97 meters. Chopra, who won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, became the first Indian track and field player to win medals in two consecutive Olympics.
Chopra said in an interview to PTI here, “Nothing was wrong, everything was right.” The throw was also good. Getting silver in Olympics is also no small thing. No, but, I think the competition was very good and the gold medal was won by the person whose day it was. It was Nadeem’s day. Chopra, who was here to inaugurate Under Armour’s new-format brand house store at the Phoenix Palacio Mall, dismissed the notion that after hockey and cricket, javelin throw would be the new sport to witness the India-Pakistan rivalry. Has become.
He said, there are no two teams in javelin throwing, but there are 12 athletes from different countries who are competing with each other. I have been competing with Nadeem in javelin throw since 2016 and this is the first time that Nadeem has won.” When asked about Nadeem, Chopra said, “He (Nadeem) is a good person, well spoken, respectful, so I like him.” Talking about his debut in javelin throw, he said, “He There was an unexpected moment when I started it. I didn’t know anything about it. When I went on the field, at that time, this decision was taken.” When asked what a javelin thrower requires most, Chopra said strength, stamina, mental stamina.
Chopra, who lifted the javelin for the first time in 2011, said, “It is a combination of all these things, and no one thing will work, but a combination of all these things, whoever has the best technique will perform well. Chopra, who has come to Lucknow, said, “I had earlier come to Lucknow to play in 2012 and after the Tokyo Olympics when the Chief Minister asked me to come. This is my third visit (to Lucknow).” This 26 year old player said, “There is a lot of difference between Lucknow of earlier and Lucknow of now. At that time I was very young and do not remember many things, at that time I had come by train and now a good airport has been built, a good mall has been built and this is the first time that I am able to travel and see the city so closely. . I liked it very much.” Chopra also drank tea at a famous outlet (‘Sharma Ki Chai’) in Lalbagh area of Lucknow and took selfies with people.
Meanwhile, Deepak Sharma, owner of Sharma tea shop, told PTI on Sunday that “Neeraj Chopra spent about 15 minutes at the (tea) shop. He ate tea, some bun-butter and some samosa. As soon as the news of his arrival at the shop spread, the crowd outside the shop increased. “Even the shop employees got excited after seeing him.” Sharma said that “he (Chopra) took selfies with people.” He said that his (Chopra) visit to the shop was sudden and he was informed about it 10-15 minutes in advance.
Giving advice to the youth, Chopra said, “I would tell the youth that they should not assume in the beginning that they will win a medal. They should be patient, because the game consumes a lot of your time. Your body needs time to grow, your muscles will strengthen well, be patient and work on your technique.”