Paris Olympics 2024: Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem's javelin battle has a lesson for India and Pakistan

Arshad Nadeem in green, Neeraj Chopra in blue. As the 80,000-seat Stade de France cheered, all of us could feel the thumping of 1.6 billion hearts even through the small screen.

Just like the two countries, the two formidable men were also at loggerheads, but of a very different kind. This time, the battlegrounds were the Olympic Games and the javelin their weapon of choice.

August 8, 2024 will go down in history as the day when two countries- Pakistan and India, competed against each other but still managed to win the hearts of the people of their countries.

Chopra and Nadeem were once again in the gold medal event of the men's javelin finals at the Paris Olympics 2024.

The Pakistani put on a spectacular show with an Olympic record of 92.9 M and won his country its first Olympic medal in 32 years, and that too with the elusive gold.

Chopra had a rocky journey with multiple fouls but managed to secure an impressive silver and season-best throw of 89.45 M and bagged the silver medal.

Grenada's Anderson Peters won the bronze with an 88.54 M javelin throw.

Nerves of gold and silver

The hulking Nadeem and the lithe Chopra showed a range of emotions and gave their legions of fans a rare look inside the mind of an Olympian standing at the edge of history and eternal glory.

Nadeem was seen grunting and in dismay with his initial faulty throw. Chopra was continually sighing and nodding after a series of fouls at the javelin final.

They gave a valuable glimpse into the pressures that an Olympic athlete faces, especially coming from countries that have never regularly excelled in athletics. Both of them are path-breakers and have opened the doors for thousands of young children to pick up the‘bhala’ or the‘baan.’

Humble beginnings

Chopra and Nadeem's lives have run parallel, despite being born on opposite sides of the border.

Both champions were born to rural agricultural families and had to face tough times to take up a sport in nations that breathe cricket. Arshad's father had to pool money to get him trained, while Neeraj got into the sport after his family forced him to lose weight and get fit.

Both went on to climb (and sometimes fall off) the ladder of sporting success. Gold or silver, the deck of cards has just fallen differently this time.

Symbols of friendly rivalry and a lesson for all

Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem have long been at the receiving end of the India-Pakistan rivalry, a macho form of which is visible every time an India-Pakistan cricket match is played. They have been relentlessly trolled, with Chopra being slammed by Pakistani social media and Nadeem being slammed by the Indian one.

But both have stood by each other firmly.

Neeraj supported Arshad when he demanded a new javelin and even came out in sharp criticism of the anti-Nadeem hate campaign, which went viral on Twitter post-2020. Nadeem has always congratulated Chopra on all of his multiple victories.

While the two champions are now successfully enjoying the fruits of their labour, they have given all of us, and especially our political elite, a message of friendly competition and lasting peace.

Divided nations, shared feelings

The Paris Olympics javelin event has left Indians with a bittersweet taste and has elated the Pakistanis. Many will now pitch the two against each other. Politicians will come up with conspiracy theories about Chopra's gold-medal loss. Social media will rage while the two champions and Grenada's Peters will go home as heroes.

But Neeraj Chopra’s tri-coloured shadow and Arshad Nadeem’s green and white one, in Paris have taught all of us an important lesson in temperance.

History only remembers the victorious and the brave. But maybe just once, she couldn't differentiate between the Indian and the Pakistani, because they are in truth, born from the same soil.