Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem responds to Neeraj Chopra's 'not close friends' remark

Olympic javelin champion, Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, refused to talk on Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra's recent statement about their relationship.

Arshad was asked about Neeraj during a press conference in Lahore ahead of the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships.

"I don't want to make any comments about Neeraj because of the ongoing conflict with India," said Arshad on Thursday (May 22). "I come from a village, and I will only say that my family and I will always stand with our army," he added.

Last week, Neeraj Chopra broke his silence over his relationship with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem in the wake of the Indo-Pak war between the nations. Answering a question on Thursday (May 15) ahead of the Doha Diamond League, Neeraj opened up on his relationship with Arshad, who is the defending Olympic champion. Both Neeraj and Arshad have shared the same podium on multiple occasions.

"First, we were never really close friends or something. And things won't be the same after this (referring to the recent Indo-Pak tensions) but if someone talks to me respectfully I reciprocate the respect," Neeraj said on his relationship with Arshad.

Neeraj was the Olympic champion when he won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The reign came to an end in the Paris Olympics when Arshad threw 92.97 metres to win the gold medal. On the other hand, Neeraj won a silver medal with a throw of 89.45 metres in Paris.

At the Doha Diamond League 2025, the two-time Olympic medalist and India's ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finally crossed the elusive 90m mark at the 2025 Doha Diamond League on Friday (May 16). Neeraj kicked off the event with a 88.44m throw. His second attempt was not a valid one. He breached the 90m mark in his third attempt. In his fourth attempt, the 27-year-old threw 80.56m, while his fifth throw was not valid and his last throw, he threw 88.20m.