‘Was gifted desi ghee once’: Neeraj Chopra has his take on Arshad Nadeem being gifted buffalo for winning Olympic gold

Among the many developments that came from Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem winning a historic Olympic gold in the men’s javelin final was the 27-year-old’s father-in-law’s announcement of a gift of a buffalo for his achievement.

While it is traditionally considered an honour in the area Nadeem hails from, it was news that was met with some hilarity, including from the burly Olympic record holder himself.

Nadeem’s great rival and friend Neeraj Chopra, who became the third Indian to win individual medals at back-to-back Olympics after by taking silver in the men’s javelin final, has now reacted to the news by saying that such gifts are not unfamiliar to him either. “I was gifted desi ghee once. Back home in Haryana we also get gifts like these: 10kg desi ghee or 50kg of desi ghee. Or ladoos,” Neeraj Chopra said in a virtual interaction with the media facilitated by JSW Sports.

“There are promises made: ‘If Neeraj wins this competition, I’ll give him 50 kgs of ghee.’ I would hear these things being said since I was kid, and where I grew up circle kabaddi and wrestling are very popular. Ghee is gifted because we believe that it helps increase strength, which we need in our sport. Buffalos are also gifted in our region. Wrestlers and kabaddi players are also gifted things like Bullet motorbikes or tractors,” he added.

‘Never doubted that I couldn’t better Arshad’s throw’

Nadeem blew the competition out of the water with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m on his second attempt. Neeraj, who was the reigning Olympic and World champion, thus had to cross the 90m mark for the first time in his illustrious career in order to stand a chance at defending his title. While crossing 90m is the only thing he hadn’t done in a career in which he has won almost every title there is to win, Neeraj said that he had no doubt that he would do it on the night after Nadeem’s throw.

“I did not have even 1 per cent doubt that I couldn’t better it. In javelin, improving your distance by 3-4m is not a huge deal.” However, he admitted that while he was mentally charged up to do it, his body couldn’t match up. Neeraj had been managing a groin injury during the Olympics. He however managed a throw of 89.45m in his second attempt, which was his season best and well above the distance he got in Tokyo which won him the gold medal in 2021.

“It wasn’t that I couldn’t have made that distance but I just couldn’t push myself that much. Mentally I was ready but physically I was holding myself back. My legwork on the runway wasn’t good. To compensate for it I was trying to put in a lot of effort in the throws. Unless your legwork and technique are good no matter how much you push yourself, it doesn’t work. I have been able to manage my injury though, it hasn’t worsened,” he said.