- Thursday, May 15, 2025
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, the decorated athlete and his family were bombarded with abuse on social media for inviting a Pakistani javelin thrower
By: India Weekly
STAR javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday (15) clarified that he and Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan were never close friends and added that “things won’t be the same” after the recent India-Pakistan conflict.
In the aftermath of last month’s Pahalgam terror attack, the decorated athlete and his family were trolled on social media for inviting Paris Games gold medalist Nadeem to the now-postponed Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru.
On the eve of the Diamond League in Dubai, the two-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion put things in perspective when asked about his off-field equation with Nadeem.
“First I would like to clarify that I don’t have very strong relationship (with Nadeem), we were never really close friends or something.
“But, because of this (tensions on the Indo-Pak border), it will not be like before. But if someone talks to me respectfully I reciprocate the respect,” Chopra told reporters during a press conference.
“Yes, as an athlete we have to talk, I have some good friends from the athlete community from all round the world, not only in javelin throw, but also other events. If somebody talks to me respectfully, I will also talk to him with full respect..
“Javelin is a very small community and everyone is competing for their country and everyone wants to give their best.”
The Paris Games silver-winning star from Haryana had earlier said he was deeply hurt to see his and his family’s integrity being questioned in abusive social media posts.
Chopra had then clarified that invites for NC Classic were sent out a day before the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists with links to Pakistan.
Chopra, who roped in the legendary Jan Zelezny as his coach after a highly successful partnership with Klaus Bartonietz, said he has settled nicely with the three-time Olympic gold medallist Czech legend after facing some challenges in the beginning..
“Initially it was a bit different to work with Jan (current coach). He has a different style than Klaus and it was challenging in the beginning, but now it’s going very well.
“Because Jan is a legend, his presence has also helped me not only in training but also with other things, like how to be stronger mentally, .. how to compete in tournaments with a strong mindset..
The 27-year-old said both Zelezny and Klaus’ coaching philosophy is different and he had to make some adjustments.
“I trained differently with Klaus, like we would do throwing tomorrow and lifting today, but with Jan… in morning we would do throwing and afternoon lifting. So, it was a new experience for me..
“In the beginning it was hard but, after few weeks, I really started to like it and everything is going well after some great sessions. We changed few little things in technique, and I also had some problem in my groin in the past. But this time, I never missed any session, so I feel very good.”.
Chopra said he prefers to train abroad as it helps him to stay focussed.
Chopra also said that he would have loved to continue his association with Klaus, the biomechanics expert from Germany, but he is now 76 and wants to spend more time with his family.
