Responding to the campaign against him over inviting Pakistani athlete Arshad Nadeem to the Neeraj Chopra Classic javelin event amid the militant attack in Pahalgam, Neeraj Chopra clarified that Nadeem’s participation was “completely out of the question” in light of the events that unfolded over the last 48 hours in the region.
“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,” he said, asserting that the invites had been sent to all athletes on Monday, two days before the attack.
“My country and its interests will always come first,” he asserted.
Neeraj, one of India’s all-time greatest sportspersons with both Olympic gold and silver to his name, expressed his disappointment over his integrity being questioned, stating, “I have carried my country with pride for so many years now, and so it hurts to see my integrity being questioned. It pains me that I have to explain myself to people who are targeting me and my family, with no good reason.”
“We are simple people, please don’t make us out to be anything else. There are so many false narratives that certain sections of the media have created around me, but just because I do not speak up, it doesn’t make it true,” he said.
He also criticised targeting the “innocent comments” made by his mother, stating, “I also find it difficult to understand how people switch opinions. When my mother in her simplicity – had made an innocent comment a year ago, there was an outpouring of praise for her views. Today, the same people haven’t held back from targeting her for that very same statement.”
India’s two-time Olympic medalist in javelin throw faced a targeted campaign on social media from right-wing Hindus for inviting Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the Paris 2024 Olympics gold medalist, to the Neeraj Chopra Classic, scheduled to be organised in Bengaluru next month under the name of India’s Olympic champion.
Chopra and Nadeem are often celebrated as symbols of sportsmanship that transcend national boundaries.
However, on Wednesday, Nadeem stated that he has declined Neeraj Chopra’s invitation to compete in the NC Classic javelin event in Bengaluru on May 24, as it would clash with his training schedule for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships.
He also expressed his gratitude to Chopra for inviting him to the event.
Both Chopra and his family, including his mother Saroj Devi, have faced intense online abuse, particularly directed at Saroj Devi for her earlier statement after the Paris Olympics, where she referred to Nadeem as “like her son” – a comment that had initially been widely praised but is now being used against her.
