Neeraj Chopra: 'Didn't have very strong relationship with Arshad Nadeem, as athletes, we have to talk'

Claiming that he ‘did not have a very strong relationship’ with the reigning Olympic champion from Pakistan, Arshad Nadeem, Neeraj Chopra said if anyone talks with him ‘respectfully’, he will reciprocate in the same way.The twice Olympic and World Championship medallist was asked about his relationship with Nadeem, which has come under scrutiny after the Pahalgam terror attacks and the subsequent conflict between India and Pakistan.Speaking at a media conference in Doha, ahead of Friday's Diamond League, Chopra said: “First of all, I really wanted to (make it) clear that I didn’t have a very strong relationship (with Nadeem). As athletes, we have to talk, and I have some good friends in the athletics community and from all around the world. Not just javelin throwers but also other events. But yeah, if someone talks to me respectfully, I also talk to them respectfully.”

- GNS News Agency, May 20

Chopra and Nadeem have dominated the javelin world in the last few years. At the Tokyo Olympics, Chopra became the first Indian to win a track-and-field gold medal while Nadeem finished fifth. Last year at the Paris Games, Nadeem shattered the Olympic record to win Pakistan's first gold medal outside hockey while Chopra clinched the silver medal The duo is unlikely to go head-to-head anytime soon this year, with Chopra o