‘Arshad was never a close friend’

Seeking to set the record straight star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday clarified that he and Arshad Nadeem were never really close friends and said lsquothings wonrsquot be the samersquo after the recent IndiaPakistan conflictIn the aftermath of last monthrsquos Pahalgam terror attack the decorated athlete and his family were bombarded with abuse on social media for inviting Pakistanrsquos Nadeem to the nowpostponed NC Classic in BengaluruOn the eve of the Diamond League here the twotime Olympic medallist and reigning world champion put things in perspective when asked about his offfield equation with NadeemAlso ReadItrsquos been horrific and boring ErlingldquoFirst I would like to clarify that I donrsquot have a very strong relationship with Nadeem we were never really close friends or something But because of this tensions at the IndiaPakistan border it will not be like before But if someone talks to me respectfully I reciprocate the respectrdquo Chopra told reporters at a press conferenceIndiarsquos Neeraj Chopra left with Pakistanrsquos Arshad Nadeem at the 2023 World Crsquoship in Hungary PicAP PTINew season beginsChopra will begin his Diamond League campaign here on Friday against a familiar field of rivals eyeing a perfect start to the season in which he would be defending his world championship crown later this yearAt a venue where he will have sizeable crowd support thanks to expatriate Indians Chopra will face twotime world champion and 2024 Olympics bronzewinner Anderson Peters of Grenada Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia the German duo of Julian Weber and Max Dehning Kenyarsquos Julius Yego Roderick Genki Dean of Japan and Choprarsquos compatriot Kishore Jena Nadeem however wonrsquot be participating at the eventlsquoGrateful to fans in QatarrsquoldquoIrsquom always overwhelmed by the support I get from the Indian people in Qatar mdash there arenrsquot enough words to thank themrdquo said ChopraWhen quizzed about his chances of breaching the 90metre mark Chopra said ldquoWith good conditions and a great atmosphere thatrsquos definitely possible but I pride myself on my consistency For me thatrsquos more important than just chasing a numberrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params