India’s Chopra withdraws invite to Pakistani javelin rival after Kashmir attack
Arshad Nadeem’s potential involvement in Neeraj Chopra Classic prompted ‘hate and abuse’, Chopra says, adding it was now ‘out of question’
India’s Olympic javelin gold medallist Neeraj Chopra said it was now “completely out of the question” that rival Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan would attend his meet in Bengaluru next month following Tuesday’s deadly Islamist militant attack in Indian Kashmir.
Relations between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have plummeted to their lowest level in years after the killing of 26 tourists on Wednesday.
A day before the attack, Chopra had announced that the world’s top throwers, including Paris Olympics champion Nadeem, had been invited to the first Neeraj Chopra Classic on May 24, an event he hoped would pave the way for a Diamond League meet in India one day.
However, the attack in Kashmir prompted heavy criticism of Chopra’s decision to invite Nadeem, even though it was unlikely the Pakistan thrower was going to attend.
“There has been so much talk about my decision to invite Arshad Nadeem to compete in the Neeraj Chopra Classic, and most of it has been hate and abuse,” Chopra, who won gold in Tokyo and silver in Paris, said in a social media post on Friday.
“The invitation I extended to Arshad was from one athlete to another – nothing more, nothing less. The aim of the NC Classic was to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be the home of world-class sporting events.