Neeraj Chopra vs Arshad Nadeem head-to-head records in javelin throw events

Fans in India hail today's World Athletics javelin final as an India vs Pakistan clash, with Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem battling to emerge on top.

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Defending champion Neeraj Chopra will be aiming to become the only third male javelin thrower in history to defend the World Athletics Championship gold when he takes the field at Japan's National Stadium in Tokyo on Thursday. Czech legend Jan Zelezny (1993, 1995), who is now Chopra's coach, and Anderson Peters (2019, 2022) are the other two who have won the world championships crown on two consecutive occasions.  Check World Athletics 2025 javelin throw final live updates Neeraj Chopra vs Arshad Nadeem showdown here

 

But in order to stop Neeraj from achieving this feat, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem is standing tall despite his late upsurge in the qualification round.

 

Though Arshad is not the only athlete who can prevent Neeraj from reaching the historic feat, the Pakistani is expected to pip Neeraj like he did in the Paris Olympics 2024.

 

As fans in India tout today’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics as India vs Pakistan, let's take a look at who is expected to emerge on top whenever India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem take the field:

 

Neeraj vs Nadeem: How the two athletes fared against each other over the years?

 

Prior to the World Championships battle that will take place on 18th September 2025, here’s a list of events where the two fierce competitors have taken part together.

 

Guwahati South Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra won gold and Arshad Nadeem bronze.

 

2016 Asian Junior Athletics Championships: Neeraj Chopra won silver and Arshad Nadeem bronze.

 

IAAF World U20 Championships: Neeraj Chopra won gold and Arshad Nadeem finished 15th.

 

2017 Asian Championships, Bhubaneswar: Arshad Nadeem finished seventh, Neeraj Chopra won gold.

 

2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games: Neeraj Chopra won gold, while Nadeem finished eighth after a poor final performance, having excelled in qualifying.

 

2018 Jakarta Asian Games: Nadeem fought back from the Commonwealth Games failure and secured a bronze medal, while Neeraj won gold.

 

Tokyo Olympics: Nadeem excelled in qualifying and finished at the top of his group. However, in the final, he threw 84.62m to finish fifth, whereas Neeraj won gold with 87.58m.

 

World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022: Arshad Nadeem finished fifth with a throw of 86.16m. Neeraj won India’s second-ever medal at the worlds with 88.13m.  Paris Olympics 2024: Arshad won Gold with a gigantic throw of over 91 metres, while Neeraj managed to get only Silver after he failed to cross 90-metre-mark.

 

Personal best of Neeraj and Nadeem

 

In the latest ranking by World Athletics, India’s Neeraj Chopra is at second position, while Nadeem is unranked as he has competed in only one event since his Paris Olympics 2024 glory.

 

When it comes to personal bests, Neeraj’s is 90.23m, achieved at the Doha Diamond League in May 2025, while Nadeem’s is 92.97m, his gold-winning throw at the Paris Olympics in 2024.