Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem wishes India's Neeraj Chopra luck in Paris 2024 Olympics javelin final

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem wished his friend and rival Neeraj Chopra of India the best for the javelin throw final at the Paris 2024 Olympics after the two logged impressive throws in the qualification round to make the cut on Tuesday.

Arshad Nadeem, the 2023 World Championships silver medallist, recorded an 86.59m throw on his first attempt to achieve the direct qualification mark of 84m. However, the headlines belonged to the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Neeraj who achieved a monster throw of 89.34m on his first attempt.

"It gives me immense joy that there are only two of us from South Asia, myself and Neeraj bhai, who are performing on the world stage along with the other players who compete with Neeraj,” Arshad noted.

"I hope that we continue to perform for our respective countries and make the names of our countries shine bright globally."

The men’s javelin throw final is scheduled for August 8 and will take place at the Stade de France in Paris.

Neeraj was crowned Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020 with an 87.58m throw. The 27-year-old Arshad Nadeem, who has been supported by an Olympic Solidarity scholarship, finished fifth in that event with a throw of 84.62m. He is the first Pakistani to qualify for the final of any track and field event in the history of the Olympics.

“At every competition, the aim of every athlete remains to try and perform to the best of their ability. I wish Neeraj the best of luck. May he and I both do well for our respective countries,” said Nadeem when asked about the prospect of sharing the Olympic podium with India’s Neeraj Chopra.

The Indo-Pakistani duo had shared the podium at the 2018 Asian Games where Neeraj won the gold while Nadeem won bronze. More recently, at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Neeraj won the gold medal and shared the podium with Arshad Nadeem who took silver.

They also share a friendship and mutual respect for each other with the two even interacting at the Olympic Village in Paris.

"Yes, we have met each other a few times there. We have a bit of a chat every time we meet,” said the Pakistani javelin ace. "And we spoke just now as well, and he said congratulations to me after the qualification.

“Usually, we speak about things that friends talk about. The usual stuff. And we wish each other that we do well for our respective countries," added the Commonwealth Games champion.