India vs Pakistan: Neeraj Chopra to face Arshad Nadeem in Diamond League in Poland on this date for first time after Paris Olympics

India's double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will be against Pakistan's reigning champion Arshad Nadeem in the upcoming clash in the Diamond League in Silesia, Poland on August 16. This will be their first outing against each other after the last edition of the Olympics, hosted by Paris in 2024.

Chopra and Nadeem will be facing each other after a year in the nail-biter men's javelin competition in Paris on August 8, 2024, where Pakistani had beaten India for the gold with a stunning Olympic record throw of 92.97m.

Chopra, who won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, had to settle for a silver in Paris with a best throw of 89.45m.

A World Athletics statement said that Chopra and Nadeem will be competing in the men's javelin event in Silesia DL.

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The Silesia DL organisers also confirmed the showdown between Chopra and Nadeem, and said it could be the first opportunity for the Indian superstar to settle the scores.

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"Neeraj Chopra will face Arshad Nadeem. The Indian-Pakistani battle awaiting the Polish fans will be the first opportunity for revenge after the Paris Olympics," the organisers said while announcing the participants of the prestigious DL event.

"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," the organisers said, referring to Chopra achieving the coveted feat of crossing the 90m mark with a throw of 90.23m in the Doha Diamond League in May.

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.

Since the Paris Olympics, Chopra has competed in several competitions, including four Diamond League meetings, two other top-class events in Chorzów, Poland and Ostrava, Czech Republic, as well as the inaugural NC Classic in Bengaluru, which he won as host.

Neeraj also crossed the 90m mark in Doha in his first DL competition of the year on May 16, though he finished second to Julian Weber of Germany. He finished second at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial event in Chorzów on May 23 with a modest 84.14m, before winning his first DL title of the season in Paris on June 20 with 88.16m.

Chopra is currently coached by the legendary javelin thrower Jan Zelezny won the Ostrava Golden Spike competition with a throw of 85.29m on June 25 before clinching the title at NC Classic with 86.18m as host and competitor.

Arshad 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.