ISLAMABAD (Web-Desk); Pakistan’s Olympic javelin star Arshad Nadeem and India’s champion Neeraj Chopra are set to face each other next month at the Diamond League in Silesia, Poland, marking their first showdown since the Paris Olympics. The much-anticipated contest comes against the backdrop of strained political ties between Pakistan and India, which have increasingly affected sporting relations.
According to a press release issued by the Diamond League on July 9, the Poland meet will feature top athletes, including Kenyan middle-distance legend Faith Kipyegon. The release described the Nadeem-Chopra clash as “the first opportunity for revenge after the Paris Olympics,” underscoring the high stakes.
It noted that Nadeem, who typically avoids the European circuit, appears to be making an exception for this event specifically to challenge Chopra. Meanwhile, Chopra remains in top form, having recently thrown 90 metres this spring and expressing a hunger to push even further. Last week, he clinched gold at the ‘Neeraj Chopra Classic,’ India’s first world-class field competition.
For his part, Nadeem demonstrated impressive strength earlier this year by securing gold with an 86.4m throw at the Asian Athletics Championship in South Korea.
Earlier in April, Chopra had invited Nadeem to compete at his namesake event. However, following a terrorist attack in occupied Kashmir just a day before, Chopra faced backlash in India for the invitation, and Nadeem ultimately did not participate. Now, all eyes will be on Poland on August 16 when these two giants finally meet again on neutral ground.
