Arshad Nadeem Declines to Comment on Neeraj Chopra's Remarks Amid Rising Tensions

Pakistan javelin sensation Arshad Nadeem, who won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, opted against reacting to recent comments by Neeraj Chopra regarding their association.

While responding to a query regarding Chopra's statements prior to the Doha Diamond League, the 28-year-old brought to the fore the current tensions between India and Pakistan along the border.

Neeraj Chopra had previously said that he never had close friendship with Arshad and hinted that their relationship could change after the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists.

"I want to make clear that I don't have that very special kind of rapport with Nadeem — we were never close friends. But due to the present scenario, things won't be what they used to be. Nevertheless, if anyone speaks to me respectfully, I always do the same," Neeraj had said in the media prior to the Doha Diamond League.

When Arshad was asked about these remarks on Thursday before he departed to the Asian Athletics Championships, he avoided commenting. "I do not want to comment on Neeraj due to the ongoing war with India. I am from a village, and I will say only that my family and I will always be with our army," he said to media.

Previously, Neeraj, who broke the 90-meter mark for the first time in his career, was criticized by fans on social media after he extended an invitation to Arshad to the first Neeraj Chopra Classic—a World Athletics-sanctioned event that was originally scheduled in Bengaluru. Invitations had been sent to a number of overseas javelin throwers, including Arshad, before the terror attack in Pahalgam.

In the wake of that attack, India carried out Operation Sindoor against terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), spiking tensions along the border. A ceasefire was finally announced later. Neeraj and Arshad have been arch-rivals ever since the 2018 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. At the Paris Olympics, where Neeraj had been a favourite to win gold, it was Arshad Nadeem who left the world in awe with an incredible throw of 92.97 meters.