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'Didn't have a strong relationship with Arshad Nadeem': Neeraj Chopra shuts down noise with firm response
Neeraj Chopra faced social media heat after his invitation to Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem for the now-postponed ‘Neeraj Chopra Classic’.
Neeraj Chopra spoke in detail about his rapport with Arshad Nadeem ahead of his Diamond League appearance in Doha, amid heightened political tensions between India and Pakistan. Ahead of his season-opening appearance on Friday, the reigning Olympic and World Champion addressed the speculation surrounding his relationship with Pakistan’s Olympic gold medallist.
“First of all, I really wanted to (make it) clear that I didn’t have a very strong relationship (with Nadeem),” Chopra said at a press conference.
“As athletes, we have to talk, and I have some good friends in the athletics community and from all around the world. Not just javelin throwers but also other events. But yeah, if someone talks to me respectfully, I also talk to them respectfully.”
Their professional rivalry has placed both Chopra and Nadeem at the centre of media narratives since the Tokyo Olympics, where Chopra made history as India’s first-ever track-and-field gold medallist, while Nadeem finished fifth. At the subsequent Paris Games, the script flipped as Nadeem captured Pakistan’s first Olympic gold outside hockey with a record-breaking throw of 92.97m, while Chopra took the silver medal.
However, the rise in political and military tensions between India and Pakistan has naturally impacted the sporting relations between both countries, too. Chopra is committed to competing in the Diamond League and a Polish meet, and he is not expected to compete against Nadeem anytime soon.
Controversy between Chopra, Nadeem
Last month, Chopra found himself at the centre of social media outrage after he revealed that Nadeem had been invited to the Neeraj Chopra Classic, a meet that was eventually postponed following the terror attacks in Pahalgam and the eventual military escalation between India and Pakistan.
“There has been so much talk about my decision to invite Arshad Nadeem to compete in the Neeraj Chopra Classic, and most of it has been hate and abuse,” Chopra had said then.
“They haven’t even left my family out of it. The invitation I extended to Arshad was from one athlete to another — nothing more, nothing less. The aim of the NC Classic was to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be the home of world-class sporting events. Invites had gone out to all athletes two days before the terrorist attacks at Pahalgam. After all that has taken place over the last 48 hours, Arshad’s presence at the NC Classic was completely out of the question.”
