Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra started his quest to defend his Olympic gold medal with a throw of 89.34 meters in the qualifying round on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics. Neeraj’s throw in the qualifier was his best this season and was just short of his personal best (89.94), which guaranteed him a spot in the final. Neeraj will now aim to win his second consecutive Olympic gold in the men’s javelin throw final on Thursday. As Neeraj advanced to the final, Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant made an exciting offer to fans on social media.
On the social media platform X, Pant announced that he would select one lucky person from those who like and comment on his post and give them Rs 1,00,089, but only if Neeraj wins the gold on Thursday.
“If Neeraj chopra win a gold medal tomorrow. I will pay 100089 Rupees to lucky winner who likes the tweet and comment most . And for the rest top 10 people trying to get the atttention will get flight tickets . Let’s get support from india and outside the world for my brother,” Pant made the announcement via X on Wednesday.
Pant’s announcement led to similar reactions from fans. A humorous account pretending to be Indian cricket star Virat Kohli also said they would give two lucky fans Rs 50,000 if Neeraj wins the gold medal.
Similar to his performance in the qualifying round at the Tokyo Olympics, the 26-year-old athlete surpassed the automatic qualifying distance of 84 meters with his first throw, securing the leading position in Group B.
This impressive throw, which ranks as the second-best in his career, also alleviated concerns about Chopra’s health, as he had previously mentioned dealing with a minor muscle strain before the competition. His personal record remains 89.94 meters, set in 2022.
As the current world champion, Chopra led the qualification round, which included both Group A and B, with his powerful throw. Anderson Peters, a two-time world champion from Grenada who threw 88.63 meters, placed second in Group B and overall.
