‘He Wanted To Throw Over 93 Meters’, Paralympic Medalist Devendra Jhajharia Explain Reason Behind Foul Throw By Neeraj Chopra

New Delhi: India’s javelin star Neeraj Chopra produced a season best throw of 89.45m at the Paris Olympics 2024 men’s javelin event but it wasn’t enough to secure the gold medal. Neeraj got silver medal as Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan won gold with a huge throw of 92.97m. With this huge throw Arshad broke the Olympic record and left fans surprised. Neeraj’s best also came on the second attempt, but his last four throws were all fouls.

In an interview with Times of India, Three-time Paralympic medalist Devendra Jhajharia suggested that Neeraj Chopra’s attempts to surpass Nadeem’s throw may have led to him overexerting, resulting in all four of his throws being fouls.

“When Nadeem threw 92.97 meters, there was, of course, pressure on Neeraj. He threw over 89 meters. In his remaining four attempts, Neeraj wanted to throw over 93 meters. Neeraj knew he had already thrown over 89 meters and was in second position, and another 89-meter throw wouldn’t have made any difference. He wanted to throw over 93 meters and put in extra effort so that he could beat Nadeem. His extra effort resulted in four fouls. For outstanding performances, you need to put in extra effort,” he said.

Neeraj clinched the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics an at the 2028 edition of the Games at Los Angeles, he will have a great chance of clinching hattrick of Olympic medals. When asked about Neeraj Chopra’s prospects for the 2028 Olympics, Devendra Jhajharia praised his passion and expressed confidence that Neeraj will achieve a hat-trick of Olympic medals in Los Angeles.

“I have seen Neeraj grow up. I have also trained with him. He is a very passionate sportsperson. He is crazy about javelin. He is so focused, very humble. I am sure he is going to make a hat-trick of Olympic medals in Los Angeles,” Jhajharia further added.