India’s golden boy Neeraj Chopra could only fetch a silver medal as he looked to defend his title at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 in the men’s javelin throw final. Neeraj was outscored by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who threw an Olympics record-breaking effort of 92.97 meters, stunning the entire sporting fraternity. Despite Neeraj’s lack of success in breaching the 90-meter mark in the Paris Games, he created history, becoming the only athlete of India to bag two track & field medals in consecutive Olympic Games. Considered one of the most focused athletes in the country, Neeraj has already given the country many historic accomplishments. But, little is known about his personal life.
As NDTV reached out to Neeraj’s family in Panipat, we got a glimpse of his luxurious house, his swanky car collection, and the Olympics connection behind the name of his Golden Retriever dog.
Neeraj, who is considered one of the most humble sportspersons in India, has a crazy car collection. He also has a few high-end bikes.
It was also found out that the name of Neeraj’s dog is Tokyo, derived from the ace athlete’s gold medal-winning throw in the previous Olympic Games, which were held in the city.
After his silver medal at the Olympic Games, Neeraj said that he has been competing with Arshad since 2016 and it’s the first time that the Pakistani athlete managed to get the better of him.
“Arshad performed well and I would like to congratulate him. I’ve been competing with him since 2016, and this is the first time he has won while competing together,” said Neeraj after the final.
“Despite the injury, I am pushing myself hard. The throw was good, but I still have a lot left in me, and I need to stay fit to achieve it,” said the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist.
Hitting the 90-meter mark remains one of Neeraj’s biggest targets. He couldn’t achieve the landmark in Paris but hasn’t lost hope.
“I haven’t achieved a 90-meter throw yet, but during the second attempt, I felt that today might be the day. I have faith in myself, and I know I’ll reach that milestone someday. Holding your flag and winning A medal for your country is an incredible feeling,” said Neeraj.
“The last two or three years were not so good for me. I’m always injured. In training, I’m not doing a lot of throws because of my groin (injury) I really tried hard, but I have to work on my injury (staying injury-free) and technique,” he concluded.
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