Indian track and field athlete Neeraj Chopra's mother gave a heartwarming reaction after he missed out on winning gold to his Pakistani counterpart Arshad Nadeem. The 26-year-old's mother openly said Arshad Nadeem is also their child as a video of the same emerged on social media.
Nadeem stunned one and all as he scaled his best throw of 92.97 meters in the men's javelin throw final that started on August 8 (Thursday). By contrast, Neeraj, the defending champion's best throw was 89.45. As a result, Pakistan bagged their first Olympic gold in Javelin and overtook India in the medals tally in this edition.
Speaking to ANI, Neeraj's mother said her son will be warmly welcomed for winning silver in the Olympics.
"Bahut Khush hain. Silver bhi hamaare liye gold ke barabar hai. Koi baat nahin ji. Woh bhi hamaare hee bacche hain."
(We are very happy. Even silver medal is equivalent to gold for us. The one who got the gold (Arshad Nadeem) is also my child. Yes, we will prepare some delicacies for him.)
"Today was Arshad's day" - Neeraj Chopra
After clinching silver, Neeraj admitted that he gave his best, but reflected that his Pakistani counterpart was head and shoulders on the day. As quoted by ANI, he stated:
"We all feel happy whenever we win a medal for the country. It's time to improve the game now. We will sit and discuss and enhance our performance. Today was Arshad's day. I gave my best, but some things need to be addressed and worked on. India played well (at the Paris Olympics). Our national anthem may not have been played today, but it will be heard in the future."
The 26-year-old's silver was India's 5th medal in this edition.
