Why Arshad Nadeem won't face Neeraj Chopra at Doha Diamond League amid Indo-Pak tensions: Explained
At the Doha Diamond League on Friday, Arshad Nadeem will be a massive absence in a strong men's javelin field headlined by Neeraj Chopra.
The Doha Diamond League event on Friday will see Neeraj Chopra in action at the Suheid bin Hamid Stadium in Qatar. He will be aiming to bag gold in a field of 11 athletes, including Indian colleague Kishore Jena.
In the upcoming event, we will also see Gulveer Singh in action in the 5000m race and Parul Chaudhary in the 3000m steeplechase.
Also Read: Neeraj Chopra at Doha Diamond League Live Streaming: When and where to watch men's javelin event live in India
Why Arshad Nadeem won't face Neeraj Chopra at Doha Diamond League?
A huge absence in the men’s javelin event will be reigning Olympic men’s champion Arshad Nadeem. Nadeem is currently preparing for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championship, which will be held in South Korea from May 27-31.
Nadeem will be leaving for Gumi on May 22 for the Asian Athletics C’ship.
In Arshad’s absence, Neeraj will be looking to cross the elusive 90m barrier mark. Speaking to Al Jazeera, the Indian athlete said, “I feel reinvigorated and am in great shape physically. In addition to the physical aspect, Zelezny has also passed on tips that help me deal with the mental part of being an athlete. It helps keeps the pressure at bay. I have been training and performing consistently, which forms the basis of achieving the best results on the field. No one can predict what will happen on the day of the competition but I am always looking to go beyond my previous best. Several javelin athletes have thrown their personal best in Doha and I aim to do the same on Friday.”
Neeraj also recently opened up on relationship with Arshad, after receiving abuse from fans amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions. He told reporters, “First, we were never really close friends or something. And things won't be the same after this (referring to the recent Indo-Pak tensions) but if someone talks to me respectfully I reciprocate the respect.”
After the Pahalgam attack last month, Neeraj received abuse from fans on X for sending Arshad an invite. Meanwhile, Arshad also declined the invite after the attack. On the other hand, Neeraj had to take to social media to clarify that the invite was sent before the Pahalgam attack.
