No India-Pakistan face-off as Neeraj Chopra pulls out from this major javelin meet

India's double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra has been pulled out from the Silesia Diamond League, which was scheduled to take place on August 16 in Poland, where he was supposed to feature against Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem for the first time since the Paris Olympics 2024. 

Fans were excited for the event because this was supposed to be the first time Neeraj and Nadeem faced each other after their showdown at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nadeem had snatched the gold there from defending champion Neeraj, who had to settle for silver.

This comes after the threats over the participation of  Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who underwent surgery on his right calf in London last month. His coach had already said he would not be able to compete.

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The official entry list also confirmed Nadeem's absence from the mega event. However, Neeraj who recently won the Neeraj Chopra Classic (NC) was not injured but has still decided to skip the event. The reason behind Neeraj’s decision is not known yet. Both Neeraj and Nadeem will now look to prepare for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo next month. However, Neeraj's close rivals, Julian Weber of Germany and Anderson Peters of Grenada, are competing in the javelin meet. 

Silesia Diamond League 2025: Men’s javelin start list

Roderick Genki Dean (Japan)

Andrian Mardare (Moldova)

Cyprian Mrzyglod (Poland)

Anderson Peters (Grenada)

Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad & Tobago)

Julian Weber (Germany)

Julius Yego (Kenya)

Neeraj is having a dreamy season so far and is currently tied with Weber at the top of the 2025 Diamond League men’s javelin standings with 15 points each. However, with Neeraj skipping the upcoming Silesia leg, Weber has a clear chance to move into sole lead. However, the points table doesn’t carry much weight as it is only used to determine the players for the Diamond League Final. In this case, even if Neeraj fails to take the top spot, he will still qualify, assuming he finishes in the top 6.