The much-awaited conflict between Olympic medallists Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem within the upcoming Diamond League could not occur, following a current surgical procedure on Nadeem’s calf muscle. The Indian and Pakistani javelin stars have been set to compete in opposition to one another in Silesia, Poland on August 16, marking their first assembly because the 2024 Paris Olympics ultimate. In that memorable occasion, Nadeem received gold with a shocking throw of 92.97m, whereas Chopra took silver with a greatest effort of 89.45m. The duo were also expected to face off in Switzerland next month. However, Nadeem’s coach Salman Butt, currently in England with the athlete, revealed that the reigning Olympic champion is uncertain to compete in both events. The focus, Butt said, is on returning fully fit for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September. “He (Nadeem) is more focussed on preparing for the World Championships in Tokyo in September which is why he decided to have the surgery on his calf muscle which had been bothering for a while now,” Butt said, as quoted by PTI. “I don’t think they will compete against each other until the World event,” he added. The procedure was performed by Dr Ali Bajwa at Spire Hospital in Cambridge. Nadeem is now undergoing rehabilitation in London. Butt further stated that depending on his recovery, Nadeem could possibly take part in one event before the Tokyo Worlds.
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“The World Championships are very important for Arshad (Nadeem) as he finished with a silver behind Neeraj (Chopra) in Budapest in 2023,” said the coach. Nadeem, 27, has been in excellent form, having also won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea earlier this year.
