The much-anticipated duel between double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem at the Diamond League in Poland is unlikely after the Pakistani javelin thrower underwent a surgery on his calf muscle in England recently.
According to a report in Dawn, Nadeem could miss two upcoming Diamond League meets next month so as to focus on the World Championships in Tokyo. At the Silesia Diamond League meet in Poland, Chopra and Nadeem were scheduled to face each other for the first time since their 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, finished second in Paris with a best throw of 89.45m behind Nadeem’s Olympic-record effort of 92.97m
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 the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September. “He (Nadeem) is more focussed on preparing for the World Championships in Tokyo in September which is why he decided to have the surgery on his calf muscle which had been bothering for a while now,” Butt said, according to PTI. “I don’t think they will compete against each other until the World event.”
Dr Ali Bajwa performed an interventional procedure on Nadeem’s calf muscle at the Spire Hospital in Cambridge. Nadeem is now undergoing rehabilitation in London and Butt said if the doctor gives clearance, he might compete in one event before the World Championships in Tokyo. “The World Championships are very important for Arshad (Nadeem) as he finished with a silver behind Neeraj (Chopra) in Budapest in 2023,” the coach said.
Nadeem has won gold medals at the Paris Olympics, 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and recently the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea earlier this year. “We are now doing rehab work with a physiotherapist in London,” Butt was quoted as saying by Dawn. “This is a two-week plan before we test ourselves for going back to regular workouts. We are trying to achieve good form for the World Championship in Tokyo and maybe compete in one competition before Tokyo if Arshad regains good form by then.”
The Gumi event is Nadeem’s first and only competitive appearance so far in 2025 where he threw 86.34m in the qualification round, before clinching the Asian title in the final with a throw of 86.40. Neeraj hadn’t entered the Asian Athletics Championships. The Indian, however, has been quite active on the athletics circuit. After a warm-up event in South Africa, Neeraj started the year in sensational style at Doha Diamond League with a career-best throw of 90.23m, crossing 90m barrier for the first time and entering the elite club. He has since competed at Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, Paris Diamond League, Ostrava Golden Spike and Neeraj Chopra Classic.
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“The Indian-Pakistani battle awaiting the Polish fans will be the first opportunity for revenge after the Paris Olympics,” the tournament’s website had stated while announcing the participation of key global stars. “The Pakistani’s form remains something of a mystery, as he rarely appears on the European circuit. The exception he will make on August 16th results from his desire to face Chopra. The latter became the 26th thrower in history to surpass 90 metres this spring. And he is certainly yearning for more.”
(With PTI inputs)
