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Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has wished all the athletes who will represent India at the Paris Paralympics, which start today (August 28).
Taking to social media, the 26-year-old, who won a silver medal at the recently concluded Summer Games, wrote on X:
"My best wishes to all the incredible Indian athletes competing in the Paralympic Games which begin in Paris today. Keep inspiring us!"
A total of 84 Indian athletes will ply their trade at the Paralympic Games, across 12 sports in total. Some notable athletes among them are Sheetal Devi and Avani Lekhara. However, some star athletes are missing out on the quadrennial event too, such as para shuttler Pramod Bhagat and para canoe athlete Rajni Jha.
Neeraj Chopra at the Paris Olympics 2024
The expectations were high for Neeraj Chopra, who was one of the two gold medal hopefuls for India at the business end of the Olympic Games. He won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics three years back in his debut outing at the Games.
The Paris 2024 campaign started well for Chopra, who danced off to the final after a successful qualification stage, where he logged a then-season best 89.34m throw to kickstart the proceedings. One throw was enough for him to register a spot in the final.
However, the final was not the best for him. The summit clash witnessed a Neeraj Chopra, who was down with injury and succumbed to pressure. The main reason behind the pressure was Pakistan javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem's huge 92.97m throw.
Nadeem, in the end, went on to win gold and Chopra had to settle for a silver, with his then-season-best effort of 89.45m. It was the only proper throw he made, that too with his second attempt, as the rest of his throws were considered fouls.
