The Indian athlete’s second-place finish came behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who claimed the gold medal.Chopra’s father, while undoubtedly proud of his son’s performance, expressed his joy and satisfaction with the silver medal.
“Everyone has their day, today was Pakistan’s day…But we have won silver, and it is a proud thing for us,” Chopra’s father Satish Kumar said.
The 26-year-old Chopra, who had never lost to Nadeem in their previous 10 encounters, secured the silver medal with his second-round throw of 89.45m.
Chopra, who won gold in Tokyo three years ago with a throw of 87.58m, managed only one legitimate throw this evening, which marked his season’s best.
Nadeem’s stunning throw of 92.97m, the sixth longest in history, came on his second attempt and shocked the Stade de France.
This throw surpassed the previous Olympic record of 90.57m, set by Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen at the 2008 Beijing Games. Nadeem capped off his performance with a final throw of 91.79m.