'Injured' Arshad Nadeem Keen To Face Neeraj Chopra, Showdown Likely On...

NDTV

7 hours ago

Pakistan's Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has suffered a "hamstring niggle" and he's travelling to England to treat the injury before his face-off with Indian superstar Neeraj Chopra at the Silesia Diamond League on August 16, according to sources. A source close to Nadeem said the hamstring problem forced him to skip an event in Switzerland and he is travelling to England on Monday to get the injury treated by specialists as well as prepare for the DL Meeting in Silesia, Poland.
"The reason for going to England is to get the hamstring problem treated and also to train for the Diamond League," he said.
The source said that Nadeem will travel directly from England to Poland next month.
"This is also the reason why he (Nadeem) skipped an event in Switzerland as he doesn't want to take a risk with the hamstring niggle." Chopra and Nadeem will be facing each other in Silesia one year after the mouth-watering men's javelin competition in Paris on August 8, 2024, when the Pakistani had beaten the Indian for the gold 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 men's javelin duel between the reigning world champion and reigning Olympic gold medallist is set to be one of the main attractions of the Silesia DL, more so after Chopra crossed the coveted 90m mark in Doha in his first DL competition of the year on May 16.
Since the Paris Games, Chopra has participated in several competitions, including four Diamond League meetings, two other top-class events in Chorzow, Poland and Ostrava, Czech Republic, as well as the inaugural NC Classic in Bengaluru which he won as host.
The 28-year-old Nadeem, on the other hand, ended his 2024 season with the Paris Olympics gold and has taken part in just one competition so far this year. He won gold in the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea, on May 31 with a throw of 86.40m.
Nadeem was, in fact, invited by Chopra for the NC Classic when it was initially planned to be held on May 24, but the Pakistani had declined that offer on the ground that it would clash with his preparations for the Asian Championships (May 27-31).
The NC Classic, though, was later postponed due to the military conflict between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack which killed 26 tourists, and then held on July 5.