Saroj Devi, mother of athlete Neeraj Chopra, speaks to PTI after his son won Silver medal in the Javelin throw at the Paris Olympic, in Khandra village of Panipat district, on August 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Elated at her son’s silver medal, Neeraj Chopra’s mother Saroj Devi also expressed happiness for Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who broke the Olympic record to beat the Indian defending champion in Paris, saying that the latter is also like her “child”.
Chopra clinched the silver medal at the Paris Games with a season’s best throw of 89.45m after Nadeem pulled off an Olympic record-breaking effort of 92.97m on Thursday night.
With the silver win, Chopra became only the third Indian and the first in track-and-field to win back-to-back individual Olympic medals.
“We are very happy with the silver, the one who got gold is also our child and the one who got silver is also our child….all are athletes, all work hard,” Saroj told PTI Videos in Khandra, Panipat, where the family is based.
“Nadeem is also good, he plays well, there is no difference between Neeraj and Nadeem. We got gold and silver there is no difference for us,” she added in the interview given on Thursday night.
Both Chopra nd Nadeem are good friends off the field despite being rivals on it.
‘Churma’ awaits Neeraj on homecoming
Chopra’s fondness for “desi khana” is well-documented and his family is planning to welcome the two-time Olympic medallist with his favourite dish “Churma” “He did really well. We will welcome him with churma which is his favourite. I am delighted, people are lighting firecrackers, we are making ladoos,” Saroj added.
Chopra’s performance is creditable also because of the highly-competitive field in which as many as seven athletes went beyond the 86m mark.
“We are very happy. He produced his season’s best. All were near 88-89m so competition was very tough. It’s not about winning a gold or silver, but about winning a medal, and he did his best,” Chopra’s aunt Kamlesh said.
Chopra is one of India’s most decorated athletes, having won the gold at every tournament including the Olympics, World Championships, Diamond League, Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.
“After Tokyo there was no medal left except for silver, that was also needed so he got it,” Kamlesh said.
She said that the family had an inkling that Chopra was unlikely to win a gold after Nadeem’s monstrous throw.
“After Nadeem’s throw (92.97m) we had a feeling (that he will win gold) but he is also our son, we are happy with him.
“He’s also Asia’s son. We don’t differentiate between Nadeem and Neeraj. Both have got gold and silver and we are very happy,” she added.
