Historic Wins: Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem's Olympic Triumphs

Defending champion Neeraj Chopra snagged a silver in men's javelin throw, marking the first time an Indian track-and-field athlete won two successive Olympic medals. However, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem stole the spotlight by setting a new Olympic record with a 92.97m throw, securing his country's maiden individual gold.

In a historic night, defending champion Neeraj Chopra clinched a silver medal in the men's javelin throw, making him the first Indian track-and-field athlete to secure successive Olympic medals. However, the spotlight shone brightly on Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who shattered the competition by setting a new Olympic record with an astonishing 92.97m throw, earning his country its maiden individual gold medal at the showpiece event.

Nadeem's second-attempt throw set an insurmountable benchmark for the rest of the competitors, including Chopra, who felt the pressure and managed only one valid throw—an impressive 89.45m that secured him the silver. This throw was Chopra's best of the season, surpassing his 89.34m qualification mark, but it wasn't enough to claim gold.

With this feat, Chopra became only the third Indian athlete and the first in track and field to win back-to-back individual Olympic medals, joining the ranks of wrestler Sushil Kumar and shuttler PV Sindhu. Meanwhile, Grenada's Anderson Peters took the bronze with an 88.54m effort, followed closely by the Czech Republic's Yakub Vadlejch and Kenya's Julius Yego.

(With inputs from agencies.)