The world will be watching as India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Paris gold medalist Arshad Nadeem face off for javelin supremacy at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo — their first clash since deadly cross-border conflict soured what was once billed as a “brotherly rivalry.”
The two athletes, once symbols of sporting camaraderie across a tense border, have dialed back their warm words since the May conflict that left over 70 dead. Nadeem, fresh from calf surgery and a record-breaking Olympic gold throw of 92.97m, is returning to the global stage after limited competition. Chopra, meanwhile, is in strong form, having joined javelin legend Jan Zelezny’s coaching group and crossed the 90m mark for the first time earlier this year.
Chopra had initially invited Nadeem to compete in India earlier this year, but later withdrew the invitation following the April attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people. “We were never really close friends,” Chopra said afterward, emphasizing that ties would not return to how they were.
With German star Julian Weber and two-time world champion Anderson Peters also in the mix, the men’s javelin final on September 18 is shaping up to be one of the most emotionally charged contests of the championships — a collision of sport, politics, and pride on the world stage.