Neeraj became India’s second individual Olympic gold medalist, following Abhinav Bindra’s 2008 Beijing Games victory, when he secured the top honors with a throw of 87.58m at the Tokyo Olympics.
This achievement made him the first Indian to win an Olympic athletics gold and the first athletics medallist in Summer Games since independence.
Can India’s golden boy Neeraj defend his men’s javelin title this time?
India’s long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, an Asian Games silver medalist, is confident that Neeraj will excel in Paris.
“Neeraj is a strong medal contender. Not just a medal contender, he’s going to defend his Olympic title,” Sreeshankar told TimesofIndia.com in an interview.
“There have been really good performances from other athletes like Avinash Sable, the relay team, long jumpers, and we can expect a good surprise from the triple jump as well. It’s not a sure-shot surprise, but if things go well, these events might help us get some good surprises from Paris,” said Sreeshankar, an Olympics expert with JioCinema & Sports18.
Sreeshankar qualified for the Paris Olympics by jumping 8.37m to win a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Athletic Championships, but a knee injury ruled him out of the global event.
India won seven medals in Tokyo—one each in athletics, badminton, boxing, hockey, and weightlifting, and two in wrestling.
Will India surpass their Tokyo record of seven medals this time?
Sreeshankar is confident that India will achieve a double-digit tally this time around.
“That’s what we are all eagerly looking forward to. The way the campaign has begun for India, I am sure that we could positively expect a double-digit tally. Shooting has been doing incredibly well, with Manu starting off the campaign, Swapnil winning another medal in shooting, and Arjun coming agonizingly close to a medal,” Sreeshankar told TimesofIndia.com.
“This will give good confidence to India’s shooters and archers. These disciplines should provide us with a couple of medals to achieve that double-digit mark. It’s not just shooting and archery we can rely upon; there are other important events coming up for us. In hockey, we are looking to change the color of the medal. Lots of exciting events are coming up. Fingers crossed that with all the prayers of Indian supporters, the team’s performance will be really good for us,” he said.