Neeraj Chopra, Arshad Nadeem both like our own sons, declare proud moms after Olympic showdown

Despite the underlying India vs Pakistan rivalry that surfaces whenever Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem compete, their mothers view the two Olympic champions as part of one united family.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem won the Paris 2024 javelin throw gold medal in style with a monster 92.97m effort that shattered the Olympic record. India’s Neeraj Chopra managed an 89.45m throw, the second-best in his career, but it could only offer the defending champion a silver.

While Neeraj Chopra was unhappy with his performance, his mother Saroj Devi was overjoyed with both his and Arshad's achievements, even embracing the Pakistani athlete as one of her own.

“We are very happy with the silver, the one who got gold is also our child and the one who got silver is also our child,” Saroj Devi told ANI. “All are athletes, all work hard.

"Nadeem is also good, he plays well, there is no difference between Neeraj and Nadeem. We got gold and silver there is no difference for us," she pointed out.

The sentiment was mutual across the border. Raziah Parveen, Arshad Nadeem’s mother, extended her heartfelt wishes to the Indian javelin thrower, hoping for his continued success.

“They are not only friends but brothers and I also pray for Neeraj that he gets more success,” Raziah Parveen told the Independent Urdu.

“Neeraj is also like our son and I pray for him that he wins medals. Winning and losing is part of sport but they are like brothers.”

Though rivals on the field, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem share a friendship off it. Last year, at the World Championships in Budapest where Neeraj claimed gold ahead of the Pakistani ace, Arshad expressed his hope to see them finish 1-2 at the Olympics.

The dream was fulfilled on Thursday. Arsham Nadeem became Pakistan’s first-ever individual Olympic champion while Neeraj Chopra became India’s most successful individual Olympian, now with a gold and a silver.

The Neeraj-Arshad rivalry began at the South Asian Games 2016, where they faced each other for the first time. Both competed at the Olympics for the first time at Tokyo 2020, where Neeraj bagged gold, while Nadeem finished fifth in the final.