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This action occurred over a week after a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.
Javelin throw stars Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem (PTI)
Pakistani Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem’s Instagram account has been blocked in India.
This action occurred over a week after a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.
Nadeem, who defeated Neeraj Chopra to clinch the gold medal at the Javelin Throw event in Paris 2024, recently made headlines when he declined Neeraj Chopra’s invitation to compete in the NC Classic javelin event in Bengaluru on Saturday, May 24, citing other commitments, especially with the Asian Athletics Championship to commence soon.
Nadeem created history at the Paris Olympics last year by breaking the Olympic record for the longest javelin throw in men’s event history to clinch the gold medal in Paris.
With a gigantic throw of 92.97m, he now holds the record for the sixth longest throw in the history of men’s javelin throw.
Chopra, on the other hand, who won silver at the same event, was ostracized by media and followers alike for having invited the champion Nadeem to the NC Classic, days before the Pahalgam tragedy.
He then took it upon himself to clear the air around all the murmurs, addressing the accusations of anti-national sentiment being hurled at him.
“I usually am a man of few words, but that doesn’t mean I will not speak up against what I think is wrong. More so when it comes to questioning my love for our country and the respect and honour of my family,” Neeraj tweeted last week.
“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. They haven’t even left my family out of it,” he added.
“The invitation I extended to Arshad was from one athlete to another, nothing more, nothing less. The NC Classic aimed to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be the home of world-class sporting events,” Neeraj added.
Neeraj said that the invites were sent out on Monday, two days before the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, tourists, were killed.
Neeraj said that Nadeem’s participation was out of the question given all that had happened over the last two days.
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