Neeraj Chopra: The countdown to Paris Olympic 2024 has begun. The whole country is currently focused on the Olympics. Along with the Olympics, all Indians are also focused on India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. Everyone wants Neeraj to once again perform the same feat that he did in the Tokyo Olympics in the year 2020. But the special thing is that this time Neeraj is competing with Pakistan's star javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem. The truth is that slowly but surely, the rivalry between Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem in men's javelin throw is becoming one of the most prestigious competitions in world athletics. Whenever the two have come face to face, everyone has got to see an exciting match.

Neeraj Chopra: Neeraj's name resonates in the world

There is no country that does not recognize India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. Neeraj has participated in many tournaments and won gold medals. Neeraj has hoisted his country's flag in tournaments like Olympics, World, Asian, Commonwealth and Diamond League Championship and has given everyone a chance to hold their heads high with pride. At the age of 25, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has won every major title related to his sport. Chopra has taken Indian athletics to a special place all over the world.

Neeraj Chopra: There was a close competition between Arshad and Neeraj in Budapest

Arshad Nadeem's achievements are not equal to those of Indian athletes, but Nadeem's silver medal at the 2023 World Championships is one of the biggest achievements. With this victory, Arshad Nadeem became the first Pakistani athlete to win a medal at the World Championships in Budapest 2023. Apart from this, he ended Pakistan's 60-year wait by winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022. Talking about the head to head competition between the two athletes, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem have faced each other in 9 international competitions so far, of which 7 were senior and the remaining two were junior competitions.

Neeraj Chopra: Both of them clashed for the first time in Guwahati

Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem first faced each other at the South Asian Games 2016 in Guwahati. Chopra won the gold medal while Nadeem won the bronze medal. At the time of writing this article, Chopra leads the head-to-head record 9-0 against Nadeem, who is a year older than the Indian athlete.

Neeraj Chopra: Both of them were also seen in the World Under 20 Athletics Championship 2016

Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem also faced each other in the World Under 20 Athletics Championships in 2016. Both the javelin throwers were in Group A of the qualifiers. That year, Neeraj topped the group with a throw of 78.20 meters in the qualifier round and won the gold medal with 86.48 meters in the final. This throw of Neeraj is also an under-20 world record. Arshad Nadeem finished 15th in the group and failed to make it to the finals. Despite Chopra's dominance, Nadeem has been giving tough competition to the achievements of the Indian legend since 2018.

Neeraj Chopra: Nadeem has thrown a throw of 90 meters

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Chopra could not participate due to injury. Nadeem won the gold medal with a throw of 90.18m and defeated then world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada. This was the second time in history that an Asian athlete crossed the coveted 90m mark. Chao-Tsun Cheng of Chinese Taipei ranks first with an Asian record-setting throw of 91.26m at the 2017 World Underscore. Neeraj Chopra's personal best is 89.94m, which was recorded at the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden. This throw is India's national record.