Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem are the stars to watch out for during the men’s javelin event at Asian Games 2023.
Hangzhou: The rivalry between Neeraj Chopra and his Pakistani counterpart Arshad Nadeem has always been the talking point in recent times but the Indian Olympic champion believes the fight is within oneself and not against anyone else. The India vs Pakistan rivalry recently came up at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and will once again be at the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in the next week.
With no European stars in the continental showpiece, Neeraj and Nadeem will once be in action in Hangzhou. Ahead of the mega showdown, Neeraj opined on giving his best and not fight with anyone who is playing against him.
“Whenever Arshad has played with me, I have won. But the focus is always on giving my best, not on who is playing against me. In athletics, you compete with yourself and push yourself to do your best,” Neeraj told reporters.
“Yes there is some focus on India and Pakistan at the Asian Games as there are no European athletes, but my fight is against myself, I have to better my technique and throw. Rest, we will see,” added Neeraj, who is the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold.
A groin strain has been troubling Neeraj for some time now but the 25-year-old does not want the thought of injury affect him as he gears up to defend his Asian Games title. He played most part of the season with a groin strain but still won the world championships title in August in Budapest and went on to finish second in the Diamond League finals on September 16.
#WATCH | Hangzhou, China: On the 19th Asian Games, India’s javelin ace Neeraj Chopra says, “I am feeling good. There is a positive atmosphere here. Last time I won the gold medal in the Asian Games. This time too I am participating. My final is on 4th (October)…” pic.twitter.com/SgyKFlvUmY
— ANI (@ANI) September 30, 2023
“I have come back here after training and doing rehab in a relaxed manner in Switzerland. I hope to give my 100 per cent and defend my Asian Games title,” Chopra said. The Haryana-lad has Olympic preparations in his mind.
“A little bit of groin issue is still there, it happened last year also. I was feeling better but it happened again. I have to take care of this very well and then prepare for the Paris Olympics. This kind of thing happens for athletes who compete at the top level.”
He said the challenge throughout the season was how to keep his mind away from the injury and focus more on his game. “I was struggling during the world championships and I was trying to divert my mind from the injury and focus on the throw.
“My strength is on the speed in the run-up but my biggest problem this time was I could not throw with full run-up even during training because of this injury. But still I am very happy with my performance this season. I want to take away this thought of injury from the mind.”
The first meeting of these two athletes was back in the South Asian Games 2016 in Guwahati, where Neeraj got gold and Nadeem took home a bronze. As of now, Neeraj has a 9-0 lead over Nadeem.