- Friday, April 25, 2025
The Olympic gold medalist said it is now “completely out of the question” in the wake of Tuesday’s deadly terror attack at Pahalgam in Kashmir
By: India Weekly
INDIA’S ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has ruled out the possibility of rival Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan attending a sporting event, organized by him, in Bengaluru next month.
The Olympic gold medalist said it is now “completely out of the question” in the wake of Tuesday’s deadly terror attack at Pahalgam in Kashmir.
Relations between India and Pakistan have become strained after 26 tourists were gunned down during an attack at an open meadow Baisaran in Pahalgam.
A day before the attack, Chopra had announced that the world’s top throwers, including Paris Olympics champion Nadeem, had been invited for the first Neeraj Chopra Classic on May 24.
Chopra hopes the event would later pave the way for a Diamond League meet in India.
However, the dastardly attack in Kashmir evoked heavy criticism of Chopra’s decision to invite the Pakistani athlete, even though it was unlikely that Nadeem was going to attend.
“There has been so much talk about my decision to invite Arshad Nadeem to compete in the Neeraj Chopra Classic, and most of it has been hate and abuse,” Chopra, who won gold in Tokyo and silver in Paris, said in a social media post on Friday (25).
“The invitation I extended to Arshad was from one athlete to another — nothing more, nothing less. The aim of the NC Classic was to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be the home of world-class sporting events.
“After all that has taken place over the last 48 hours, Arshad’s presence at the NC Classic was completely out of the question.”
Media reports said Nadeem, Pakistan’s first individual Olympic gold medallist, had opted not to attend the Bengaluru meet, which clashed with his training schedule for the Asian Championships in South Korea next month. (Reuters)
