World Athletics Championship: India vs Pakistan in Tokyo as Neeraj Chopra faces off with Arshad Nadeem | More sports News

Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem showdown marks the newest chapter in a rivalry between the neighboring nations (Image credit score: Agencies)

NEW DELHI: It’s every week of intense India-Pakistan rivalry, and the highlight received’t be restricted to cricket. While the 2 nations conflict in a mouth-watering Asia Cup match on Sunday, consideration may even flip to the athletics area, the place India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem will go head-to-head in the javelin on the Tokyo World Championships subsequent week. Chopra and Nadeem showdown marks the newest chapter in a rivalry between the neighboring nations, which has been additional strained following a lethal four-day army battle in May—the worst since 1999.Chopra, the Tokyo Olympic champion, and Nadeem, the Paris Olympics gold medallist, will face one another for the primary time in competitors for the reason that tensions escalated. Despite the political backdrop, Chopra has beforehand spoken about his pleasant rapport with Nadeem, emphasizing mutual respect even amid the fraught relations between their international locations.After Nadeem received gold and Chopra stood alongside him on the rostrum in Paris, Nadeem’s mom Raziah Parveen stated: “Winning and losing is part of sport, but they are like brothers.”Chopra’s mom Saroj stated she took some solace in Nadeem beating her son as a result of the Pakistani “is also our boy”.But publicly no less than that modified after the battle, with high-profile figures from each international locations underneath stress to distance themselves from the opposite facet.

The 27-year-old Chopra, who will defend his world title in Tokyo, stated that they had been “never really close friends”.Nadeem, 28, additionally performed down any friendship with Chopra.“When he won, I congratulated him, and when I won the gold, he returned the same courtesy,” Nadeem advised AFP by phone en path to Tokyo.“(Just as) in wrestling, one wrestler wins and the other loses — it’s part of the game.”Nadeem, who’s returning to competitors after calf surgical procedure in July, hails from a farming village. He grew to become an in a single day sensation when he gave Pakistan their first Olympic gold in 40 years with a Games-record throw of 92.97m.Nadeem has competed solely as soon as since Paris, profitable the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea in May when Chopra didn’t take part.The final time the pair clashed was on the Paris Olympics.In April, the Indian star invited Nadeem to India for his ‘Neeraj Chopra Classic’ javelin occasion however the Pakistani declined, saying it clashed with his coaching schedule.Chopra then withdrew the invitation after an assault in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 killed 26 individuals, largely Hindu vacationers. India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, a cost Islamabad denied.In the battle that adopted greater than 70 individuals had been killed in missile, drone and artillery fireplace on either side.“I want to clarify that I don’t have a particularly strong relationship with Nadeem, we were never really close friends,” Chopra stated afterwards.“But because of the current situation, things will not be as they were. That said, if someone speaks to me with respect, I always respond in kind.”

Chopra grew to become a nationwide hero in India after his Tokyo gold, incomes million-dollar endorsement offers with his boyish appeal, altering hairstyles and infectious smile.He received the world title in Budapest in 2023 and has been in nice type since becoming a member of Czech javelin nice Jan Zelezny’s teaching group forward of the 2025 season.He went previous 90m for the primary time when he threw 90.23m on the Doha Diamond League assembly in May, however completed second to German Julian Weber.At the Zurich Diamond League final month, Weber as soon as once more stood on prime of the rostrum, with a throw of 91.51m. Chopra was second with 85.01m.Along with Weber, additionally in Tokyo shall be two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada.The world championships begin on Saturday, with the lads’s javelin ultimate on September 18.(With inputs from AFP)