Clockwise: Neeraj Chopra, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, PV Sindhu, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Neeraj Chopra won a silver medal in the men’s javelin throw competition of the Paris Olympics 2024 on Thursday to join an elite list of Indian athletes.
Neeraj Chopra registered his season-best throw of 89.45 m in the second attempt on Thursday (August 8) to finish second in the men’s javelin throw final at the Paris Olympics 2024 and win the silver medal. The 26-year-old athlete from Haryana is the first Indian to win a silver medal in the ongoing Olympic games in Paris and overall eighth in history.
Here’s a look at eight Indians who’ve won silver medals at the Olympics.
Norman Pritchard (Athletics, 1900): Norman Pritchard was the first Indian athlete to win silver in the Olympics, and in fact, he won two of them. He participated in the 1900 Paris Olympics and finished second in the men’s 200-meter hurdles and men’s 200-meter. He held the record for being the only Indian to win multiple medals in the Olympics for 112 years before Sushil Kumar matched the feat in 2012.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Shooting, 2004): Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won a silver medal for India in the men’s double trap shooting event at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He was the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal in history.
Vijay Kumar (Shooting, 2012): Vijay Kumar won a silver medal for India in the 25-meter rapid-fire pistol event at the 2012 London Olympics. He registered a total score of 30 in the final to finish second behind Leuris Pupo of Cuba, who won gold by equalising the world record and setting a new Olympic record.
Sushil Kumar (Wrestling, 2012): Sushil Kumar won the bronze medal for India in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and he changed the colour of his medal by securing silver four years later in the 2012 London Olympics. He participated in the men’s freestyle 66 kg category on both occasions and became the first Indian athlete to win a medal in back-to-back Olympic games.
PV Sindhu (Badminton, 2016): PV Sindhu created history at the 2016 Rio Olympics by becoming the first Indian shuttler to qualify for the gold medal match. But she suffered heartbreak in the final and had to ultimately settle for silver in the women’s singles final after going down by a margin of 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 against Carolina Marin of Spain.
Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting, 2021): Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won a silver medal for India in weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics. She participated in the women’s 49 kg category and lifted a total weight of 202 kg (87 in snatch and 115 in clean and jerk) to finish second behind China’s Hou Zhihui.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya (Wrestling, 2021): Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a silver medal in the men’s freestyle 57 kg event for India at the Tokyo Olympics. Dahiya won three matches comfortably to book a place in the gold medal match but failed to get the better of Zaur Uguev in the final and had to settle for silver.
Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw, 2024): Neeraj won a gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event at the Tokyo Olympics and finished second in the same competition three years later at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Neeraj registered his season’s best throw of 89.45 m in the final, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem from winning gold. Nadeem finished on top by touching a distance of 92.97 m.
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Read More: Neeraj Chopra To PV Sindhu: 8 Indians To Win Silver Medal In Olympics – News18