Neeraj faces ‘abuse’ for inviting Pakistan’s Nadeem to NC Classic

Indian javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra on Friday said he has been bombarded with “hate and abuse” for inviting Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem to next month’s Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru, clarifying that the Olympics champion’s presence was “completely out of question” in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and Paris Games silver winning star from Haryana said he was deeply hurt to see his and his family’s integrity being questioned in abusive social media posts.

Chopra invited Nadeem, who defeated the Indian in Paris last year to win gold, for the inaugural NC Classic to be held on May 24.

“After all that has taken place over the last 48 hours, Arshad’s presence at the NC Classic was completely out of the question. My country and its interests will always come first,” Chopra, who is a Subedar Major in the Indian Army, said in a lengthy post.

Nadeem had declined to come citing other commitments. The 27-year-old Chopra said he is well aware of the chatter surrounding his invitation to Nadeem after the Pahalgam attack.

“...most of it has been hate and abuse. They haven’t even left my family out of it,” said Chopra. “The invitation I extended to Arshad was from one athlete to another — nothing more, nothing less. The aim of NC Classic was to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be the home of world-class sporting events,” he added.

Chopra said invites for NC Classic were sent out on Monday, a day before the Pahalgam terror attack.