Do you know how often have Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem fought against one another before?
World Champion Neeraj Chopra, with the Indian flag floating behind him, briefly shared the podium with third-place finisher Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic. When his Pakistani teammate Arshad Nadeem wasn’t looking, he’d wink at him and gesture for him to join along. The two men shared identical gold and silver grins as Nadeem joined Chopra without the Pakistan flag he had been looking for. Together, they have done a lot to silence the frequent Indo-Pak rivalry debates. A day before the championship match, Arshad would text the Indian champion, “Neeraj bhai, Aap bhi achcha karein, Hum bhi acha karein.” To Sportstar he said, “Your name is known all over the world, and so is mine.” (Sibling, I hope for nothing but the best for both of us. You enjoy widespread renown all across the world. Like them, I want to be recognised everywhere I go.
Minutes later, Neeraj gave back by saying, “I don’t use my mobile much before the competition, but today I looked at it, and the first thing was India versus Pakistan… I was feeling pretty good about myself after Arshad threw well and we had a nice conversation about how great things are going right now between our two countries. As an example, Chopra would often claim, “Back in the day, there were European athletes, but now we have reached their level.”
Despite having thrown 90.18m in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, Nadeem could only manage 87.82m on Sunday in Budapest. He threw an impressive 88.17 metres to win the men’s javelin final, but Chopra was only 0.35 metres ahead of him. It was the sixth time the two athletes had competed against one another, but this time it was on an international stage. You can observe when these two Asian athletes have faced off against one another in the competitions listed below.
2016
In February of 2016, at the South Asian Games in Guwahati, India, these two athletes first competed against one another. Chopra took first place with an 82.23-meter throw, while Nadeem placed third with a 78.33-meter effort. Chopra won silver with a throw of 77.60 metres while Nadeem won bronze with a throw of 73.40 metres at the Asian Junior Championships in Vietnam, where the two athletes met for the second time. At the World Under-20 Championship in Poland, which featured stiff competition from India and Pakistan, Nadeem’s throw of 67.17 metres was not good enough to move him to the finals. Chopra won the U-20 world championship with a record-breaking score of 86.48. Also, although Chopra competed in ten events and twice broke the 80-meter barrier, Nadeem only entered three international tournaments.
2017
Chopra ran in 11 international competitions in 2018, with one win at 85 metres; Nadeem had three appearances in international competitions, with their only on-field meeting occurring at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar. Chopra won gold with a throw of 85.23 metres, while Nadeem finished in eighth position with 78.00 metres.
2018
The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia and the Jakarta Asian Games were the sites of two of their field meetings. Chopra’s winning throw of 86.47 metres at Gold Coast was more than two metres farther than Nadeem’s eighth-place effort of 76.02 metres. Chopra set a new national record in Jakarta by throwing 88.06 metres, and he won the gold medal. Nadeem earned the bronze medal by throwing 80.75 metres. Neeraj and Nadeem clasped hands for the first time and posed for a picture together while holding their national flags.
Neeraj possesses extraordinary talent. I have competed alongside him eight times (five to be exact), most recently in India at the SAF Games and the Asian Junior Championships. But he has an international trainer and I do not. The Pakistani Nadeem would declare after the last event of the Asian Games in Jakarta, “His accomplishment inspires me and my goal is to emulate him one day, maybe beat him too.” “Neeraj bhai jawab hi nahi dete,” he would say, referring to the fact that Neeraj had not answered his messages. It wasn’t long before he stopped trying. I don’t know why that is. Perhaps he’s simply extremely busy at the moment. Technically, he’s very competent.
This year, Neeraj and Nadeem didn’t play together at all because of an ailment that prevented him from competing in a competition. Nadeem qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 86.29 metres at the SAF Games in Kathmandu in December 2019; Neeraj would qualify after a performance of 87.86 metres in South Africa in January 2020. Chopra won India’s first-ever gold medal with a final throw of 87.58 metres, and Nadeem finished in fifth place with a distance of 84.62 metres, however, both athletes won first place in their respective groups in the Tokyo Games.
Some days later, a controversy emerged as Neeraj merely said that he had lost track of his javelin after the first throw because Arshad Nadeem was moving with it. As conspiracy theories spread throughout social media, Neeraj Chopra came to the Pakistani thrower’s defence. What I’m asking is that you not exploit me and my opinions to further your own aims. Friendly rivalry instils the values of cooperation and solidarity. Seeing some of the public’s reactions to my recent statements has left me feeling extremely disheartened,” Chopra tweeted. Nadeem told The Indian Express, paraphrasing, “Neeraj bhai ne bilkul theek kaha hai, Hum dono bahut acche dost hain aur aisi cheezein nahi honi chahiye.” (He was totally right, we are wonderful friends and these things shouldn’t happen).
2022
They only faced each other once, at the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, United States. Just before the World Championships, Neeraj Chopra will break a new Indian record of 89.94 metres in Sweden. Silver went to Chopra, who threw 88.13 metres, while Nadeem, who threw 86.16 metres, finished in fifth place in Eugene. I was able to catch up with Arshad after the show. He did a great job, and I told him so. His explanation was that he was experiencing pain in his elbow. After he threw the javelin further than 86 metres after recovering from an injury, I told him it was motivating. The words of Chopra.
Nadeem, an athlete from Pakistan, sent his best wishes to Chopra after he won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and became only the second Asian to break the 90-meter barrier. I came in second to him in this contest. Thank God, he’s a great friend. Nadeem prayed, “Who hote toh aur bhi maza aata” (if he had been here, there would have been more delight; may God bless his health).
2023
The Pakistani javelin thrower had been out for over nine months after suffering an elbow injury at the Commonwealth Games, but he was now on the verge of making a comeback. During qualifying in Budapest, both Nadeem and Chopra set personal bests for the season with throws of 88.77 and 86.79 metres, respectively. On Sunday night, the two Asian athletes met for the eighth time in a major international final. After Chopra’s second attempt, he was ahead of the field, with the next three spots going to Czech Republic’s Jakub Valdech, Germany’s Julian Weber, and two more Indians, Kishore Jena and DP Manu. Nadeem jumped up to second place, just behind Chopra, after his second and third attempts, in which he threw 82.87 and 87.82 metres, respectively. In the end, India’s gold medallist prevailed and Pakistan’s silver medalist made history for his country, but up until that point, nothing had changed.
Congratulations to Neeraj Chopra and India for the Gold!!