Pakistani olympic

Arshad Nadeem: Ahead of the Diamond League meet in Rome, India’s javelin ace Neeraj Chopra addressed the recent controversy surrounding his association with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, setting the record straight on where things stand between the two star athletes. Chopra, India’s first Olympic gold medallist in track and field and reigning world champion, clarified that despite the mutual respect between the two on the field, he and Nadeem were never particularly close off it.

“I would like to clarify that I don’t have a very strong relationship with Arshad Nadeem,” Chopra said during a press conference. “We were never really close friends or something. But, because of this (India-Pakistan border tensions), it will not be like before.”

The athlete was referring to the backlash he and his family faced following the now-postponed NC Classic, a day-long javelin event that was set to be hosted in Bengaluru, where Nadeem had been invited.