PM Modi dials Neeraj Chopra, praises his grit and mother's sportsman spirit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Neeraj Chopra after the Indian athlete won the silver medal in the men’s javelin event in Paris Olympics 2024. On Thursday (August 8), Neeraj threw 89.45 metres at Stade de France in France and delivered his season’s best performance, but it was not enough for him to fetch gold.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal with a best throw of 92.97 metres while Grenada’s Anderson Peters bagged bronze with a throw of 88.54 metres. After the athletics event, PM Modi reached out to Neeraj and congratulated him for bringing home the silver medal.

The PM also asked Neeraj about his adductor niggle that had been troubling him in the lead-up to the quadrennial event in Paris. Earlier this year, in June, Neeraj had said that he wished to take advice from doctors to deal with his injury.

The Prime Minister also hailed Neeraj’s mother for her sportsman-spirit after her son could not defend his Olympic crown in the javelin final. "We are happy with the silver. The one who got the gold is also like our son. He was injured, so we are happy with his performance,” Neeraj’s mother, Saroj, has said.

Neeraj did not make the best of starts as he made a foul throw. But he made a brilliant throw in his second attempt to enter the silver medal position.

Neeraj also became only the third Indian after wrestler Sushil Kumar and badminton star PV Sindhu to win medals in back-to-back Olympics.