Neeraj Chopra, Arshad Nadeem's rivalry bigger than Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Ex-Pakistan cricketer
A former Pakistan cricketer compared Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem's rivalry in men's javelin throw to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia.
2024 is turning out to be an action-packed year for sports fans in India. First it began with India's title-winning run at the T20 World Cup, and then we saw six medals at the Paris Olympics 2024. Manu Bhaker bagged two shooting bronze medals; one in individual and the other in mixed team with Sarabjot Singh. In shooting, Swapnil Kusale also bagged a shooting bronze.
Meanwhile, the men's hockey team defeated Spain to claim bronze. Aman Sehrawat also bagged a wrestling bronze medal. Neeraj Chopra, who bagged gold in Tokyo 2020, failed to defend his title and had to settle for silver in men's javelin throw.
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Neeraj lost his title to Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who also broke the Olympic record. We also have the Border-Gavaskar Trophy coming up in November and sports fans in India will once again be glued to their television sets.
What did Basit Ali say?
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali compared Neeraj and Arshad's rivalry to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. "I think they are trying to create hype. The whole world knows that India vs Pakistan is on one side and everything else is on the other side. Even Ashes isn't that big. So, you are going to hear such statements now," he said.
Calling it a bigger rivalry than the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he added, "Arshad Nadeem beat Neeraj Chopra at the Paris Olympics; otherwise, it was a certain gold medal for India. The Indian cricket team has made it clear that they won't travel to Pakistan, so just conduct a bilateral series of hockey, javelin, or kabaddi between India and Pakistan in some other country, and you will know whether the India-Australia series is bigger or the India-Pakistan match is bigger. When Neeraj and Arshad compete in javelin, the whole world will be in front of the television, and the stadium will be full."
Nadeem began the final with a massive 91.79m throw and then followed it up with 92.97m which saw him break the Olympic record. In his sixth attempt, he once again crossed 90m, getting 91.79m. Meanwhile, Neeraj's best throw was 89.45m, which came in his second try. He struggled with four consecutive four throws. Grenada's Anderson Peters got bronze with 88.54m.