Paris: Arshad Nadeem has been biding his time under the spotlight thrown on Neeraj Chopra for a while now. Although the Pakistani shares a great camaraderie with the Indian and considers him as an inspiration, he’s always had to play second fiddle. Be it the World Championships in Budapest followed by the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, Arshad was forced to settle for the silver.
The genial 27-year-old has craved for his moment under the sun. And he chose the grandest of all stages to not only steal the spotlight from defending champion Chopra but also announce himself to the wider world with a jaw-dropping performance that left the Stade de France completely astounded.
After fouling his first attempt, Arshad let rip his spear to a mighty distance of 92.97m in his second throw to set a new Olympic record and kill the contest very early on itself. From there on, the chasing pack faced an Herculean challenge and although Chopra tried his best, he just couldn’t catch up. His best effort, of 89.45m, bagged him the silver.
Chopra, who was in smashing form in the qualifications that raised hopes of a second successive gold despite concerns over his adductor that hampered his preparations, started the evening on a disappointing note, fouling his very first attempt. After letting the javelin off his hands, the Indian slipped and although he tried to control himself the momentum took him forward and he just graced the line with the tip of his fingers as judges ruled it a foul.
Having to conjure something extraordinary, Chopra went for broke but ended up fouling three of them consecutively. This left him with a lot to to in the final attempt and the 26-year-old ended up fouling that also. He then bowed to the crowd, happy at having taken a silver despite the rocky build-up.
It was not just Nadeem who broke records on a balmy night in the City of Love. Overwhelming favourite Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone defended her 400m hurdles in style, smashing her own world record with a scorching run. The American great, despite being bogged by injuries in the build-up, was off the blocks in a flash and by the time she took the 200m bend, it looked clear that she was heading for gold.
McLaughlin-Levrone then blasted ahead in the straight, her eyes set on erasing her own world record which she did, crossing the line in 50.37 seconds, miles ahead of compatriot Anna Cockrell and close rival Femke Bol of Netherlands.
In the night’s other highlight event, the men’s 200m, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo produced the run of a lifetime to grab a stunning gold ahead of favourite Loah Lyles. The American, who won a cracking 100m a few days ago and was eyeing a treble, arrived to the track full of vigour.
He hit his starting block in exuberance, looking pumped up in his pet event. All the while, Tebogo stayed quiet and was focussed on his race. And once the gun went off, he took off like a cheetah, taking an early lead and then holding his rhythm to cross the line with a new African record of 19.46.
Lyles, like he did in 100m when he produced a late charge to steal the gold by five thousandths of a second, tried it again but the pace of Tebogo was too much to catch up. He eventually finished third behind compatriot Kenneth Bednarek.
Results:
Men's 200m: Letsile Tebogo (BOT) 19.46s, 1; Kenneth Bednarek (USA) 19.62, 2; Noah Lyles (USA) 19.70, 3.
Men's Javelin throw: Arshad Nadeem (PAK) 92.97m, 1; Neeraj Chopra (IND) 89.45, 2; Andersen Peters (GRN) 88.54, 3.
Women's 400m hurdles: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) 50.37 (WR; Old: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, 50.65, June 2024) 1; Anna Cockrell (USA) 51.87, 2; Femke Bol (NED) 52.15.
Women's Long jump: Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA) 7.10, 1; Malaika Minambo (GER) 6.98, 2; Jasmine Moore (USA) 6.96, 3.