Explore Business Standard
Neeraj Chopra
Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's much-anticipated showdown with Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem at the Diamond League Meeting in Silesia, Poland, on August 16 will not take place as the names of the two rivals were missing from the entry list of the event. The reason for Chopra's name not featuring in the entry list is not known. On July 9, the Silesia DL organisers had announced participation of two-time Olympic medallist Chopra and Pakistan's Paris Games gold winner Arshad Nadeem, with the athletics fans anticipating a mouth-watering showdown between the two South Asian rivals. Late last month, Nadeem underwent surgery on his calf muscle in England, raising doubts over his participation and the showdown. The top-class field in Silesia has familiar names in Julian Weber of Germany, Anderson Peters of Grenada, Julius Yego of Kenya and Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago as well as the likes of Dean Roderick Genki of Japan, Andrian Mardare of Moldova and ...
The much-anticipated duel between double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and reigning champion Arshad Nadeem at the Diamond League in Poland lies in uncertainty after the Pakistani javelin thrower underwent a surgery on his calf muscle in England recently. Chopra and Nadeem were scheduled to face each other for the first time next month, one year after the mouth-watering men's javelin competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the Pakistani came out on top, beating his Indian counterpart for the gold medal with a stunning 92.97m throw. The 27-year-old Chopra, who had won gold in Tokyo Olympics in 2021, had to settle for a silver in Paris with a best throw of 89.45m. The duo were set to compete against each other in the Diamond League in Silesia, Poland on August 16 and then in Switzerland next month. Nadeem's coach Salman Butt, who is with him in England, informed that the reigning Olympic champion is unsure for both the events as he was more focussed on making his comeback at t