Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem responds to Neeraj Chopra’s “never really close friends” comments

New Delhi (India) May 24: Arshad Nadeem, the gold medallist for Pakistan at the Olympics, said he supports the Pakistan Army at the time of increased tensions between India and Pakistan and declined to comment on the recent remarks made by Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.

Nadeem said, "I don't want to make any comments about Neeraj because of the ongoing conflict with India."

"I come from a village, and I will only say that my family and I will always stand with our army.”

Arshad also answered plainly when asked about Neeraj's recent performance: "It's good for him.”

In a recent interview, Neeraj Chopra made it clear that he and Arshad were "never really close friends”.

Neeraj said, “I want to clarify that I don't have a particularly strong relationship with Nadeem - we were never really close friends. But because of the current situation, things will not be as they were. That said, if someone speaks to me with respect, I always respond in kind.”

His comments came after he received backlash from Indian social media users for inviting Arshad to the postponed first Neeraj Chopra Classic, an event approved by World Athletics that was initially scheduled to take place in Bengaluru.

Neeraj invited leading international javelin throwers, including Arshad, before the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists.

Nadeem also declared that he was aiming for the 100-meter mark following his Paris gold medal.

He said, “I will leave tomorrow for the Asian Athletics Championships. I will try to perform well at the event.”

“I am targeting a 100-meter throw, and I’m working hard, and by the will of Almighty Allah, I will achieve it one day.”

Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem have been playing at the international level since the Asian and Commonwealth Games in 2018. Arshad defeated Neeraj to win gold in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with a throw of 92.97 meters.

Aadrika Tayal