Neeraj Chopra scripted history as he became India's first track and field athlete with medals at the successive Olympic Games. The 26-year-old Javelin thrower bagged a Silver at the Paris Games after registering his only legal throw of 89.45m. Meanwhile, Neeraj's parents have given their initial reactions to their son's feat.
His mother, Saroj Devi, was proud of his son's achievement in the Olympics. "We are very happy. For us, silver is also equal to gold. The one who got the gold is also like our son. He was injured, so we are happy with his performance. I will cook his favourite food," she told the media after Neeraj secured another medal.
His father, Satish Kumar, was also proud of his Neeraj's accomplishment in Paris but also highlighted that the groin injury might have played a part in Neeraj's performance. "Everyone has their day. Today was Pakistan's day. But we have won silver, and it is a proud thing for us. I think his groin injury had a part in his performance. He has won silver for the country. We are happy and proud. All the youths will get inspired by him," he told media.
His grandfather also reacted to Neeraj's performance. "He has given his best performance and won silver, adding one more medal to the country," his grandfather, Dharm Singh Chopra said.
Neeraj was unhappy with the performance and highlighted how injuries have troubled him. "It was a good throw but I’m not that happy with my performance today,” Neeraj said after the event. "My technique and runway was not that good. (I managed) only one throw, the rest I fouled.
"(For my) second throw I believed in myself to think I can also throw that far. But in javelin, if your run is not so good, you can’t throw very far.
"The last two or three years were not so good for me. I’m always injured. I really tried hard, but I have to work on my injury (staying injury-free) and technique," the 26-year-old added.
