How Neeraj, Arshad's mothers set example of sporting spirit

New Delhi/Karachi: "Gold jis ka hai, wo bhi hamara he larka hai. Yeh baat sirf aik maa he keh sakti hai. Amazing." The usually rabble-rousing Shoaib Akhtar had just the right words to sum up the warm sentiments after mothers of champion javelin throwers Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem called each other's sons their own following a historic Olympic final in Paris.

The warmth they exuded was a refreshing change from the often vile discourse that accompanies any India-Pakistan sporting showdown, fuelled by the ever-outraged keyboard warriors on social media.

Nadeem beat the Indian defending champion in Paris. Chopra clinched a silver medal with a season's best throw of 89.45m after Nadeem pulled off an Olympic record-breaking effort of 92.97m on Thursday night.

Instead of bitterness, there were celebrations in both the countries and both Saroj Devi and Razhia Parveen deserve some credit for changing the discourse.

"We are very happy with the silver, the one who got gold is also our child and the one who got silver is also our child....all are athletes, all work hard," Chopra's mother Saroj Devi told PTI Videos in Khandra, Panipat, where the family is based.

With the silver win, Chopra became only the third Indian and the first in track-and-field to win back-to-back individual Olympic medals.

Nadeem, on the other hand, became Pakistan's first individual Olympic gold-medallist. It was also the first time that he bested Chopra but the two shared a customary embrace at the end of the fierce competition.

"Nadeem is also good, he plays well, there is no difference between Neeraj and Nadeem. We got gold and silver there is no difference for us," Saroj Devi added in the interview given on Thursday night. Both Chopra and Nadeem are good friends off the field despite being arch-rivals on it.

In Khanewal village of Pakistan's Punjab, Nadeem's mother Raziah Parveen echoed the sentiment shared by Saroj Devi. "They are not only friends but brothers and I also pray for Neeraj that he gets more success," she told a channel called 'Indy Urdu'.

"Neeraj is also like our son and I pray for him that he wins medals. Winning and losing is part of sport but they are like brothers," she added. She isn't off the mark.

Chopra stood up for Nadeem when he became the target of social media trolls after a short clip of him sifting through javelins during the Tokyo finals was portrayed as an attempt to tamper Chopra's equipment.

The Indian also offered him support when Nadeem resorted to crowd-funding to finance a new javelin after the one he had was worn out following years of use. The two have repeatedly set the bar high in how sportsmen ought to conduct themselves and it was little surprise that the women displayed genuine affection for both the men.

'Churma' awaits Neeraj on homecoming: Chopra's fondness for "desi khana" is well-documented and his family is planning to welcome the two-time Olympic medallist with his favourite dish "Churma"

"He did really well. We will welcome him with churma which is his favourite. I am delighted, people are lighting firecrackers, we are making ladoos," Saroj added.

Chopra's performance is creditable also because of the highly-competitive field in which as many as seven athletes went beyond the 86m mark.

"We are very happy. He produced his season's best. All were near 88-89m so competition was very tough. It's not about winning a gold or silver, but about winning a medal, and he did his best," Chopra's aunt Kamlesh said.