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Neeraj Chopra vs Arshad Nadeem hits major obstacle, Pakistan javelin ace might skip Poland Diamond League due to…
Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem were set to face each other at the upcoming Poland Diamond League, their first meeting since the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Since the Paris Olympics 2024 men’s javelin final, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem were set to partcipate in their first event together, at the upcoming Poland Diamond League. But the upcoming showdown has hit a roadblock and may not happen as Arshad recently had a surgery on his calf muscle.
In Paris, Arshad clinched gold with a sensational throw of 92.97m and Chopra got silver with a best attempt of 89.45m. They are also set to participate in the same event in Switzerland next month.
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The Pakistan athlete’s coach informed PTI that he is unsure about both events as he wants to recover properly for the World Athletics C’ships in Tokyo in September.
Butt said, “He (Nadeem) is more focussed on preparing for the World Championships in Tokyo in September which is why he decided to have the surgery on his calf muscle which had been bothering for a while now.”
“I don't think they will compete against each other until the World event.”
Arshad is currently undergoing rehabilitation in London and his coach hinted that he might participate in one event before the World C’ships. “The World Championships are very important for Arshad (Nadeem) as he finished with a silver behind Neeraj (Chopra) in Budapest in 2023,” he said.
This year also saw Neeraj cross the elusive 90m mark, but he hasn’t been consistent. He recently identified a flaw in his techniqu. He said, “I have already identified the areas I need to work on. While throwing the spear, I tend to fall too much on my left side. We need to work on that. In training I don’t do that, but in competition, it happens because of the extra effort I put in.”
“I have achieved 90m this year. But I need to be more consistent to achieve it more often. I am continuously around 88-89m, and my coach said he is happy, but I need to be more consistent,” he added.
