Neeraj Chopra praises Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem for fifth finish at World Athletics 2022
Returning from an injury, Arshad Nadeem finished fifth in Oregon on Sunday while Neeraj Chopra clinched silver.
India's javelin star Neeraj Chopra was all praise for his Pakistani counterpart Arshad Nadeem at the end of the World Athletics Championships 2022 in Oregon on Sunday.
Neeraj Chopra bagged a silver medal with a throw of 88.13m, while Arshad Nadeem — making a comeback after an elbow injury — finished fifth with his best throw of 86.16m in the javelin throw final. Anderson Peters of Grenada took the gold medal with three throws over the 90m-mark.
“I spoke to Arshad after the competition ended,” Neeraj Chopra said. “I told him that he did very well. He replied that he had issues with his elbow. I further congratulated him for a great throw.
“It was his comeback from injury, and it was commendable that he threw the javelin over 86 metres,” Chopra, who became the second Indian after Anju Bobby George in 2003 to win a medal at the world athletics championships, told reporters.
Both Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Arshad Nadeem invited controversy by practising his throw with the Indian's spear before the start of the grand finals.
Even though Nadeem was accused by a section of the media of ‘tampering’ with Chopra's gold medal-winning spear, the Olympic champion showed his sporting spirit by quickly dousing hints of any India-Pakistan tension.
To clear any controversy, Neeraj Chopra tweeted, “There was nothing wrong with Arshad Nadeem using my javelin to prepare. It is within rules, and please do not use my name to push a dirty agenda,” Neeraj Chopra had said.
Arshad Nadeem was the first athlete from Pakistan to qualify for the track and field event at the Olympics last year and has competed with Neeraj Chopra in several tournaments. At the Asian Games 2018, Nadeem clinched bronze while Chopra won gold.
The Oregon 2022 world championships was Arshad Nadeem’s first competition since the Tokyo Olympics last year.
They will both be in action next at the Commonwealth Games 2022 starting in Birmingham on Thursday.