Sumariwalla: Neeraj Chopra can take silver; his consistency merits celebration after Glasgow Commonwealths

Adille Sumariwalla, chairman of the Athletics Federation of India selection committee, said Neeraj Chopra’s silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month is acceptable and that the athlete should not be criticised for not always winning gold. Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist who has been carrying a lower back injury for nearly a year, produced a season's best of 86.48m to take silver in Glasgow.

Chopra has a record of long-term success on the global stage dating back to his junior world record, and Sumariwalla urged recognition of that consistency rather than scrutiny over a single result. The 28-year-old missed the 2022 Commonwealth Games through injury after winning gold at the 2018 edition; August 7 is observed by the AFI as National Javelin Day in honour of Chopra’s Tokyo Olympic gold in 2021. Sumariwalla said of the Glasgow silver: "After the injury, for him to come back to this stage and win a silver medal, it's simply fantastic, for Indian athletics. We are confident that he will keep on improving (in the coming days)."

Sumariwalla rejected the notion that Chopra must always finish first, noting the realities of competition and human limits. "It is not that he would win gold all the time, it doesn't happen like that. Silver medals also happen. He is also a human being, and we should leave at that. We should celebrate his silver medals also," he said, citing the thrower's return from a lower back problem sustained two weeks before last September's World Championships.

The selection committee chair listed Chopra’s achievements to underline why the javelin thrower deserves leniency after setbacks. "Who has given you two Olympic medals, a gold and a silver? Who has given you world championships gold, junior world record and a gold medal? Who has given you Asian Games gold and Commonwealth Games gold and silver, and Asian Championships gold? Whatever medal he has won, we should take it as a bonus," Sumariwalla said. He added: "So, when he wins a silver medal also, we must leave it at that. We must not write him off. Whatever he has to do, he will do it and he knows it. He is after all the greatest athlete India has produced."

India returned from Glasgow with 10 athletics medals — five silver and five bronze — its best haul at a Commonwealth Games held outside India, and a higher total than the eight medals won in 2022. Sumariwalla viewed the absence of golds as influenced by narrow margins in several events, pointing specifically to high jumper Sarvesh Kushare, who cleared the same height as the winner but took silver on countback.

Discussing team depth, Sumariwalla highlighted multiple finalists and event coverage despite a restricted delegation. "Two medals in javelin, two in triple jump, nearly two in long jump, we have depth. We are now not dependent on just a few athletes to deliver. We had multiple finalists in many events," he said, adding: "Moreover, we could send a limited number (32) of athletes this time (due to scaled-down Games). Otherwise, we could have fielded our athletes in more events and might have won more medals."

Sumariwalla acknowledged some individual setbacks while spotlighting standout performances from Glasgow. He noted early exits for Gurindervir Singh in the men's 100m heats and Animesh Kujur failing to make the 200m final, then praised double-medallist Gulveer Singh and long jump silver-winner Murali Sreeshankar: "Gulveer's was a standout performance. He trains abroad and he now knows how to handle the Africans and the Americans. Look at Sreeshankar, after such a bad injury and surgery, he has come back."

Separately, Sumariwalla confirmed his candidacy for the World Athletics presidency to succeed Sebastian Coe, with elections scheduled for September next year for the 2027-2031 term to be held in Beijing prior to the World Championships (September 11-19). He said of his nomination: "I have had two terms as World Athletics Council member, one term as Vice President. I have all the qualifications, whether educational, experience or in business, having been part of large international corporations. I think I am very well suited for the job and I have put in my nomination," he reiterated.

Chopra resumed competition with a fourth-place finish at the Doha Diamond League in June and is scheduled to compete at the Lausanne Diamond League on August 21 and the Diamond League Finals in Brussels on September 4 and 5, events for which he is likely to qualify, ahead of the Asian Games in September-October.