“He fought like a tiger”: AFI president Sumariwalla on Neeraj’s silver medal win at Paris Olympics

Paris [France], August 9 (ANI): Athletics Federation of India president (AFI) Adille Sumariwalla said that Neeraj Chopra fought like a tiger to clinch the silver medal at the ongoing Paris Olympics.

Chopra, 26, fell short of retaining his gold medal, finishing with a best throw of 89.45 meters. Despite a strong performance on his second attempt, he struggled with four consecutive foul throws, which prevented him from winning gold. He became the second male athlete from post-independence India to win two Olympic medals in an individual event.

Speaking to ANI, Sumariwalla said that people put too much stress on medals and he is one of those who doesn’t like talking about it.

He added that the Indian javelin player recovered from an injury to win the silver medal and was “unbelievably good” in the final event.

“I think people give too much stress on medals. I am one of those who doesn’t talk about medals. I think if the process is right, medals will come. Look at what happened today. Neeraj was injured. He came back from an injury. In Tokyo, he got a golden. Today he threw 2 meters more than he threw in Tokyo but had to settle for a silver…He got a season’s best. I think he’s a tiger. He fought like a tiger. He recovered from an injury and he was just unbelievably good…He’s a champion. That’s what champions are made of….,” Sumariwalla said.

Neeraj’s first and third attempts were invalidated by red flags, and his final three attempts were also fouls. Despite his strong performance in the qualification round, where he threw 89.34 meters. His 89.45-meter throw was his second-best performance but not enough to retain his gold.

He looked under pressure before taking the run and the Indian javelin thrower crossed the line once again and was given a red flag in his fifth attempt. His last and sixth attempt was also disqualified after he crossed the line while throwing.