Neeraj Chopra vs Arshad Nadeem: A New Age India-Pakistan Rivalry

The rivalry between India and Pakistan in athletics dates back to the 1960s when the world witnessed the duel between Indian track legend Milkha Singh and Pakistan's Abdul Khaliq

The India-Pakistan rivalry, which was mostly confined to sports like cricket and hockey, has now reached a different height, igniting passions in various sports, including athletics.

The athletic duel between Indian Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Commonwealth Games champion Arshad Nadeem is becoming one of the most thrilling spectacles in world sports with each global event. This emerging rivalry is adding a new dimension to India’s and Pakistan’s sporting narratives.

The rivalry between India and Pakistan in athletics dates back to the 1960s when the world witnessed the duel between Indian track legend Milkha Singh and Pakistan’s Abdul Khaliq.

The current rivalry between Neeraj and Arshad is gaining similar traction. Neeraj Chopra has become a household name with his remarkable achievements, having won gold at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Diamond League, and World Athletics Championships, putting Indian athletics on the global map.

While Arshad’s collection of medals isn’t as extensive as Neeraj’s, he made history as the first Pakistani athlete to win a World Championships medal, earning silver just behind Neeraj’s historic gold.

The difference between Neeraj’s best throw of 88.17m and Arshad’s best effort of 87.82m was less than a meter. Arshad also ended Pakistan’s 60-year wait for a Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham in 2022.

The two athletes have faced off in nine international events, seven times at the senior level and twice at the junior level.

Their first meeting was at the South Asian Games 2016 in Guwahati, where Neeraj won gold, and Arshad took bronze.

Currently, Neeraj leads their head-to-head record 9-0. Despite Neeraj’s dominance, Arshad has been closing in on his performances since 2018. He poses a significant threat to Neeraj’s Olympic supremacy heading into Paris.

Arshad holds a personal best throw of 90.18m, achieved during the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he won gold. This effort surpassed the then-world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada. Neeraj missed this event due to an injury.

Arshad’s throw made him only the second South Asian athlete, after Chinese Taipei’s Chao-Tsun Cheng with a throw of 91.26m at the 2017 World University Games, to surpass the 90m mark. Neeraj, however, has yet to reach this much-discussed 90m mark, with his personal best being 89.94m at the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden, which also stands as a national record.

The two top javeline throwers of the world will come face to face for the 10th time at Paris 2024, with Neeraj Chopra hoping to making it 10-0.

But before the two athletes come face-to-face for the 10th time, let’s have a look at the Neeraj-Arshad rivalry in numbers:

South Asian Games 2016, Guwahati

Neeraj Chopra 1st (82.23m)

Arshad Nadeem 3rd (78.33m)

Asian Junior Championships 2016, Ho Chi-Minh

Neeraj Chopra 2nd (77.60m)

Arshad Nadeem 3rd (73.40m)

World U20 Athletics Championships 2016, Bydgoszcz

Neeraj Chopra 1st (86.48m)

Arshad Nadeem 30th (67.17m)

Asian Athletics Championships 2017, Bhubaneshwar

Neeraj Chopra 1st (85.23m)

Arshad Nadeem 7th (78.00m)

Commonwealth Games 2018, Gold Coast

Neeraj Chopra 1st (86.47m)

Arshad Nadeem 8th (76.02m)

Asian Games 2018, Jakarta

Neeraj Chopra 1st (88.06m)

Arshad Nadeem 3rd (80.75m)

Tokyo Olympics 2020

Neeraj Chopra 1st (87.58m)

Arshad Nadeem 5th (84.62m)

World Athletics Championships 2022, Oregon

Neeraj Chopra 2nd (88.13m)

Arshad Nadeem 5th (86.16m)

World Athletics Championships 2023, Budapest

Neeraj Chopra 1st (88.17m)

Arshad Nadeem 2nd (87.82m)

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