Neeraj Chopra. (AP Image)Neeraj Chopra will be competing at the ongoing Asian Games where he will look to defend his gold medal. (Image: AP)
Defending Asian Games gold-medalist, Neeraj Chopra spoke on the highly anticipated Indai-Pakistan rivalry as he looks to compete against his rival Arshad Nadeem in the javelin throw event.
The intense rivalry between India vs Pakistan is not specific to a single sport. Be it cricket, football, hockey or any other sport. Now India’s Neeraj Chopra faces a similar predicament when he will go up against his rival from Pakistan, Arshad Nadeem, as the duo will compete for the prized gold medal at the Asian Games, held at Hangzhou, China.
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Neeraj Chopra has been the favourite to win the medal if you look at his exploits as he is the reigning Olympic Champion and World Champion in javelin throw. Another interesting point to note is that he is also the defending Asian Games champion having won the gold in the previous edition of the Asian Games which was held in 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
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His rival however has come close at times and also poses a decent record as well. He managed to come second behind Neeraj Chopra in the World Championships. But he came first in the Commonwealth Games where he was competing against the likes of India’s DP Manu and Rohit Yadav. He also picked a bronze in the previous edition of the Asian Games as well.
‘There’s always an India-Pakistan thing going on for fans. At the #AsianGames, it will be even more in focus. But in Athletics, the competition is with yourself, not against others.’– Neeraj Chopra pic.twitter.com/8PsWCsP3Yd
— Dipankar Lahiri (@soiledshoes) September 30, 2023
Neeraj Chopra however, remains aware of the highly talked about rivalry between India and Pakistan. He said,” I agree that there is a lot of talk about the India-Pakistan rivalry, especially in the Asian Games where there is no European competition, this will be in more focus. But like I have always said, the first fight is against yourself and focus on putting in a good performance. The rest we shall see.”
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The pair of Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem will be eager to compete with each other as the pair will meet in the javelin throw event at the Asian Games.
