Neeraj vs Nadeem: An India-Pakistan rivalry with a difference

Neeraj Chopra doesn’t reach for his mobile phone too much on competition day. On the rare occasions when he read it before the World Championship final in Budapest last month, “the first thing (I saw) was India against Pakistan,” as Chopra would reveal after becoming world champion.

Neeraj Chopra versus Arshad Nadeem is actually India versus Pakistan, with a difference. There’s little of that bunch of social media bickering between people over a cricket match (although the players themselves might exchange gifts and warm hugs) or some over-the-top promotions from broadcasters (remember ‘mauka mauka’?). Or, in the case of football, a real fight between the players on the field.

On the javelin field, there is only bonhomie between the best of India and Pakistan, but with the unwavering effort to continue boosting their own benchmarks and the status of their country in athletics. Don’t expect anything different from Chopra and Nadeem on the night of October 4 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, when the two will line up again in the javelin final just over a month after being scheduled for a 1-2 finish in the Budapest World Cup.

“I felt good because Arshad threw well,” Chopra said in Budapest after her throw of 88.17m earned her gold while holding off Nadeem (87.82m). “We talked and discussed how our two countries are growing now.”

As has their competitiveness and camaraderie over the years since they first crossed paths with javelin in hand. That was at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati, where Chopra took gold (82.23m) and Nadeem took bronze (78.33). A year later, they would meet again in India at the Asian Championships in Bhubaneshwar. At the time, Chopra was crowned U20 world champion in an event in which Nadeem finished 15th, and the Indian continued to consistently throw over 80 meters in triumphs in Bhubaneshwar and the 2018 Commonwealth Games, even when Nadeem could not surpass the mark.

When she did it at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, she earned her place on the podium (bronze, 80.75m) in which Chopra held her own with a gold and a huge throw of 88.06m. That podium image of the two leaning in for a handshake with their respective medals around their necks gave an early indication that this India-Pakistan rivalry was not your typical chest-thumping kind.

More would come. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where Chopra stood out (gold, 87.58 m) and Nadeem was not far behind (5th, 84.62 m), the Indian put an end to the restless tribe on social networks and rushed to criticize the Pakistani athlete for using Chopra’s javelin. . A year later, when Nadeem returned to competition at the World Championships in Eugene after the Games due to a long injury layoff, silver medalist Chopra congratulated him on his fifth-place finish. Months later, when Chopra was injured and Nadeem won the 2022 CWG gold with a stunning throw of 90.18m, he recognized his missing competitor. “Unki kami mehsoos hui hai (I have felt his absence),” he said in Birmingham.

Both will be present in Hangzhou. Nadeem endured another injury-enforced break for almost a year before winning silver at the Worlds in Budapest last month, while a groin injury has meant Chopra has attended just five meets this year so far. As his entry into the 90m club in Birmingham demonstrated, Nadeem can go very far on any given day and be a bit erratic otherwise. Chopra, the epitome of being consistently efficient while chasing the 90-meter mark, has made all but one throw longer than 85 meters this year in three wins. The odd one out was in the Diamond League final over the weekend, where he finished second (83.80m).

“He (Chopra) has his ways of winning events,” Nadeem told Dawn on Thursday. “At first, I used to be nervous and everything, but now I’ve competed against him quite a bit, so it’s not the same anymore.” (Hopefully) I will win gold in Hangzhou my way.”

However, Chopra will most likely retain her Asian title in a season in which she has added the world crown. Moments after doing so in Budapest, Chopra, draped in the tricolor flag, called out to a flagless Nadeem to join him for a photo.

“People make this a rivalry, but there is no bad blood between us. Even today, he came up to me and we congratulated each other,” Chopra said. “There is always that pressure between India and Pakistan, and I am sure it will be amplified at the Asian Games.”