Chopra-Nadeem’s face-off in Poland unlikely, says Pakistani javelin thrower’s coach

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 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.

“I don’t think they will compete against each other until the World event,” he added.

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.