New Delhi, Aug 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised star athlete Neeraj Chopra for winning a silver medal in the men's javelin throw event in Paris on Thursday night and becoming the third Indian to claim medals in back-to-back Olympics.

Neeraj, who won the gold medal in Tokyo, came up with his second-best-ever throw of 89.45 metres in the only legal throw he managed in the final in Paris as Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem set a new Olympic Record with a gigantic effort of 92.97 to win the gold medal,

The Prime Minister said the country was elated that Neeraj will be coming back from Paris with another Olympic medal.

"Neeraj Chopra is excellence personified! Time and again he’s shown his brilliance. India is elated that he comes back with yet another Olympic success. Congratulations to him on winning the silver. He will continue to motivate countless upcoming athletes to pursue their dreams and make our nation proud," PM Modi wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

By winning the silver medal, Neeraj Chopra became only the third Indian to win individual medals in back-to-back Olympics joining the likes of Sushil Kumar (2008, 2012) and PV Sindhu (2016, 2020). He is also the fourth Indian to win two or more individual medals in the Olympic Games joining the list that includes Manu Bhaker (2024) besides Sushil and PV Sindhu.

Neeraj's silver medal is the fifth by India in the Paris Olympic Games and first in athletics. India have so far won three medals in shooting and one in hockey besides Neeraj's silver.

--IANS

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