Neeraj Chopra had a strange evening, by his standards: one clean throw in six attempts. That one throw, though, was enough to win him the Olympic silver medal and further embellish his status in Indian sport and become just the fourth Indian ever to win multiple Olympic medals- in individual sport.
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But Neeraj was not happy. It was an Olympic silver medal, yet there was barely a hint of a smile or a look of satisfaction. Even his friend on the circuit, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who beat him to the gold with two monster throws, got an uncharacteristic cold shoulder. That was an indication of the kind of standard he has set for himself - who'd have thought three years ago that a second successive medal, this time a silver, would feel like it was not enough?
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.
When he looks back, though, he'll appreciate just what he's done here. Not merely winning a second Olympic medal, but also the context around it. 2024 was a year of learning him, a year where he competed in only three events leading to Paris, fewer than what he would have liked. The groin injury that troubled him in 2023 and forced him to miss the Commonwealth Games came back to haunt him this May when he felt discomfort in his adductor.
He took a tough call at the time, to skip competitions and focus on his health. "I could have competed in more events for sure and that was the plan, but I have realised that my health is paramount, that comes first. Even if I feel the slightest discomfort or like I am pushing myself too much in training, I've learnt to pause for a bit," he told ESPN last month.
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.
He came to Paris after tuning out all the noise and focussing solely on himself. He did everything in his capacity: cut out distractions, heal his body and charge his mind. Yet, he was second-best on the night he wanted to be #1.
But that's the thing, Neeraj might be disappointed with a silver medal. But he's still the gold standard for Indian sport.