“The one who got the gold is also my child” - Neeraj Chopra's mother on Arshad Nadeem winning gold at Paris Olympics 2024

In an extraordinary display of shared humanity, Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra’s mother Saroj Devi said that she is happy with the results of the men’s javelin throw event in the Paris 2024 Olympics. She added that the gold-medal winning Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan was also her ‘child’.

Speaking to an ANI reporter from their residence in Haryana, Saroj Devi said:

“We are happy with the silver. The one who got the gold [Arshad Nadeem] is also my child."

Despite throwing a season’s best distance of 89.45m in his second attempt, Neeraj could not secure the first position. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem broke the Olympic record with a monstrous 92.97m throw in the final.

Despite Neeraj Chopra failing to win a second consecutive gold medal in the Olympic Games, his mother is elated nonetheless, saying:

“We are very happy. For us, silver [medal] is also equal to gold.”

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“I’ll cook his favorite meal once he returns” - Neeraj Chopra’s mother makes promise after son wins silver at Paris Olympics 2024

After his gold medal-winning stint in Tokyo in 2021, Neeraj Chopra returned home to his mother’s favorite home-cooked meal. Saroj Devi has promised that she will do the same thing again when Neeraj returns home from France.

Speaking to ANI reports, she stated:

“I’ll cook his [Neeraj’s] favourite meal once he returns.”

Both Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra displayed incredible gamesmanship on Thursday, with the friendly rivals going neck-to-neck in a battle for the first gold medal in Paris 2024 for their respective country.

Arshad ultimately succeeded in that regard, winning Pakistan’s first Olympic gold medal after breaking the 90-metre barrier twice during his six attempts in the final match. Meanwhile, Neeraj had to settle for a silver medal, becoming the first Indian athlete to win a gold and silver Olympic medal in the process.

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