In a recent interview, Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan's trailblazing javelin thrower who won a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, dispelled the notion that Indian Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra is his main competitor.
"No. I myself is the only competitor to Arshad Nadeem. I did not think I was competing to win against anybody," Nadeem said. His remarks come after Chopra clinched the gold medal with a throw of 88.17m, whereas Nadeem took the silver with a season-best throw of 87.82m.
Nadeem expressed happiness over Chopra's win, emphasizing a shared Asian triumph on the world stage. "At the world level, two Asians finished first and second. Neeraj bhai won the gold medal and I am very happy. Sometimes he will win the gold, sometimes I will," Nadeem was quoted by the BBC. He further shared his experience of participating in the South Asian Games in Guwahati, India, in 2016.
"I went to Guwahati in India for South-Asian Games in 2016 and won the bronze medal there. Neeraj got the gold medal that time. I also broke national record. As we played more competitions together, we became friends and it (friendship) became stronger," he stated.
Echoing Nadeem's sentiment of friendship over rivalry was Chopra's mother, who spoke appreciatively of Nadeem after her son's historic gold win. "This kind of thinking takes a human being forward. There is a lot of talk in social media that India has done this, Pakistan has done that. But, this kind of positive thinking makes human beings closer. I congratulate his (Chopra's) parents and his whole country," she said.
After the championship, a photograph showing the three medalists together but without Nadeem holding the Pakistani flag went viral, triggering various speculations. Responding to this, Nadeem clarified, "After the competition got over, I was sitting there, packing my things like spikes and putting them inside my bag. I thought I will keep all these things inside the bag and then hold the flag. The (Pakistan) flag was there but I was a little late."
Arshad Nadeem's silver medal win marks a historic milestone for Pakistani athletics, making him the first athlete from Pakistan to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. Both Nadeem and Chopra have proven that sportsmanship can transcend national borders, setting an example of unity in a sport often fraught with geopolitical undertones.
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