TOKYO: India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem are set to go head-to-head for the javelin gold at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo next week, intensifying a rivalry that has grown amid recent political tensions.
The men’s javelin final will feature Tokyo Olympic champion Chopra and Paris Olympic gold medalist Nadeem, two rising stars competing for global supremacy. This marks the first time the athletes will face each other since the countries’ brief but deadly military clash in May, a conflict that claimed over 70 lives.
Earlier, Chopra and Nadeem shared a cordial relationship, often praising each other’s talent. Nadeem’s mother, Raziah Parveen, had congratulated Chopra on his Tokyo silver, calling them “like brothers,” while Chopra’s mother, Saroj, expressed pride in Nadeem’s victories. However, tensions following the May conflict have cooled their personal bond. Chopra stated, “We were never really close friends,” while Nadeem emphasized a professional rapport: “When he won, I congratulated him, and when I won, he returned the same courtesy. It’s part of the game.”
Both athletes are in strong form ahead of the championship. Nadeem, returning from calf surgery in July, is competing for the first time since winning gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in May, while Chopra, trained under Czech legend Jan Zelezny, achieved a career-best throw of 90.23 meters in Doha earlier this year.
Their rivalry also faced complications earlier this year when Chopra invited Nadeem to the Neeraj Chopra Classic in India. Nadeem declined due to training commitments, and the invitation was eventually withdrawn following a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which escalated diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
Chopra, 2023 World Champion in Budapest, enters Tokyo as a top contender, alongside two-time World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and Germany’s Julian Weber. The men’s javelin final is scheduled for September 18, promising a highly charged showdown between the two Olympic champions.
