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Neeraj’s best effort of 89.45 metres (also season best) came in his second attempt to claim the second successive Olympic medal after his gold at Tokyo Games.
Pakistan’s Arshad came up with a sensational record Olympic throw of 92.97 metres in his second attempt to dethrone defending champion Neeraj.
Anderson Peters of Grenada claimed bronze with best throw of 88.54 metres which came in his fourth attempt.
With his silver, Neeraj became first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two Olympic medals.
The season’s best effort was the Indian’s only legitimate throw of the evening.
The 26-year-old Chopra emerged as a big favourite to secure back-to-back titles following his awe-inspiring performance in the qualifying round.
His colossal first attempt in qualifying, measuring a staggering 89.34m, sent a resounding message to his competitors about his unwavering determination and exceptional form.
With the sliver on Thursday, Neeraj became the fourth Indian athlete to clinch two Olympic medals in individual sport.
Shuttler PV Sindhu (one silver, one bronze), wrestler Sushil Kumar (one silver, one bronze) and shooter Manu Bhaker (two bronze) have won two Olympic medals each post Independence.
Nadeem’s monster effort — sixth longest in history — also came in his second attempt which was like a bolt from the blue that stunned the Stade de France.
The earlier Olympic record stood at 90.57m in the name of Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, set during the 2008 Beijing Games.
Nadeem also signed off in style with a closing throw of 91.79m.
The earlier Olympic record stood at 90.57m in the name of Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, set during the 2008 Beijing Games.
Thorkildsen was watching the proceedings from the stands, along with three-time Olympic champion and world record (98.48m) holder Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic.
As many as seven athletes went beyond the 86m mark as the competitive field saw three season’s best and an Olympic record.
Before tonight, Chopra had never lost to Nadeem in their 10 earlier meetings.
It was not the first 90m effort from Nadeem, having thrown 90.18m to win gold in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
He is the second Asian to have thrown beyond 90m, the other being Chao-Tsun Cheng (91.36m in 2017) of Chinese Taipei.
Chopra did not take part in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games due to an injury.
Nadeem was to compete with Chopra in the Hangzhou Asian Games in October last year but pulled out at the last minute due to an injury.
He was beaten by Chopra in the 2018 Asian Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
