Sharda Ugra joins Shyam Vasudevan to look back at an epic Javelin Throw final (5:48)
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It was that kind of a night for Neeraj at the Stade de France, where he just could not find his groove. The competition was intense - there were eight throws better than Neeraj's gold-medal-winning throw of 87.58m from Tokyo. He seemed particularly unsettled by Nadeem's monster second throw - 92.97m, an Olympic record by a distance. This was unfamiliar territory for Neeraj, who usually leads from the front, and he needed to respond.
Respond he did, with his own monster throw, the second best of his career: 89.45m. Neeraj, though, still looked unsatisfied. He gestured to the crowd as if to say "Hold on, there's more to come." But there wasn't.
His next three attempts, strangely, were fouls. It brought out a side of Neeraj that the world has not seen before. He was visibly upset, the frustration evident on his face. He screamed at himself, ripped off the belt from his waist and grabbed his jacket in anger, in-competition emotions you don't typically associate with him.
With one final throw left, Neeraj paced around the runway. Hands on his hips, he walked to the turf and stared into the distance. Perhaps he'd set a marker on where he wanted the javelin to land. But it just did not happen - for someone who could produce clutch throws on demand, it just didn't click on Thursday. The last throw was also a foul and Neeraj let out a frustrated scream before plonking himself on the bench.
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It's not something that the pre-Tokyo Neeraj would have done. But now, three years and one Olympic medal wiser, he was able to focus on what was important: feeling 100%. Mentally and physically.
