Paris: ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra has created a stir in the Paris Olympics. The 26-year-old player from Haryana has made it to the finals by a brilliant javelin throw in the qualification round of the Olympics 2024. Neeraj Chopra threw his javelin so far in the first attempt in the qualification round that there was no need for a second attempt. Neeraj threw a javelin of 89.34 in the very first attempt. This was his best performance this season.
His title match will now be played on 8 August 2024. Due to which India will once again expect gold from Neeraj Chopra. Along with Neeraj, Nadeem of Pakistan also qualified for the final of the Paris Olympics in his first attempt. Nadeem threw the javelin 86.59 meters away and reached the final in his first attempt itself.
Neeraj one step away from creating history
If Neeraj Chopra wins gold, he will become the fifth player to retain the title in Olympic history. With this, he will also become the first Indian to win two gold medals in the Olympic individual category. So far, only Eric Lemming (Sweden 1908 and 1912), Joni Myra (Finland 1920 and 1924), Chopra’s idol Jan Zelenzy (Czech Republic 1992 and 1996) and Andreas T (Norway 2004 and 2008) have been able to retain the title in the Olympic javelin throw event.
This year was not special
This year Chopra participated in only three events but his other competitors have also not been able to perform well. In May, Chopra threw a throw of 88.36 meters in the Doha Diamond League. At the same time, due to pain in the adductor, he did not participate in the Ostrava Golden Spike on May 28 as a precaution. In June, he won the gold medal by throwing a throw of 85.97 meters in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland. After this he did not participate in the Paris Diamond League on 7 July.
