Now India-Pakistan will compete in Paris Olympics, Arshad Nadeem will face Neeraj Chopra again

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Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem were seen together on the podium in the Asian Games 2018, where Neeraj won gold. After this, the clash between the two in the Tokyo Olympics attracted the most attention and since then the Indian star has won every time and this time too he is the strong contender.

Neeraj and Arshad will compete in Paris OlympicsImage Credit source: Michael Steele/Getty Images & AFP

The Paris Olympics have not been good for Indian players so far. Most of the players either got eliminated in the beginning, or missed out on winning some medals after coming very close to winning them. Only pistol shooters Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh and rifle shooter Swapnil Kusale have added 3 bronze medals to the country's kitty. India's challenge has ended in many sports, while in some sports, there is still a claim left. And now it is the turn of the match which every Indian fan is waiting for the most. On Tuesday, 6 August, India and Pakistan will compete in the Paris Olympics, because the match will be between India's Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan's challenger Arshad Nadeem.

The sequence of success continues from Tokyo

Before the Paris Olympics, Indian fans were hoping that this time the country's bag would be filled with medals and one or two gold medals would definitely come, but even after 10 days, only 3 bronze medals have come. All three bronzes came from shooting. Stars like PV Sindhu, Nikhat Zareen, Lakshya Sen returned without medals. In such a situation, once again the country's hopes are pinned on its star athlete Neeraj Chopra. Neeraj created history by winning the javelin gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. Not only was it the first medal of independent India in athletics, but he was only the second Indian to win gold.


 

Since his success in Tokyo, Neeraj has won every major athletics event. He had already become a champion in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, but after becoming an Olympic champion, he also won gold medals in the World Championships and titles like the Diamond League. Apart from this, he has also won gold or other medals in other events. There has hardly been any event in these 3 years in which Neeraj was not in the top-3. In such a situation, once again the hopes of Indian fans will be on him. However, this time too Neeraj will be challenged by stars like Julian Webber, Yakub Vadleich and Anderson Peters. The qualifier of this event is on Tuesday.

Eyes on Neeraj vs Arshad

Despite this, Neeraj will be the biggest contender for the gold medal. Apart from these giants, Neeraj will be challenged by another star and he is Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan. The rivalry between the two came to the fore for the first time in the Asian Games 2018, where Neeraj won gold and Arshad won silver. After that, it attracted the most attention in the Tokyo Olympics, where Neeraj became the champion while Arshad reached the final. Since then, both have faced each other in tournaments like World Championship and Diamond League, but Neeraj has won every time. The special thing is that both are in the same Group B in the qualification round.


Neeraj will win again

If we look at the statistics, both the players have come face to face 9 times so far and the record is in favor of Neeraj 9-0. Arshad is currently ahead of Neeraj in just one case and that is the best throw. Neeraj has not been able to cross 90 meters till date. His best throw has been 89.94 meters. On the other hand, Arshad has thrown up to 90.18 meters, which is his best. Despite this, Neeraj will be a contender for victory because not only is he in a good rhythm, but he also has experience of performing well in big events. On the other hand, the biggest challenge in front of Arshad is fitness because he has returned after being out for a long time due to injury. In such a situation, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to throw to his full potential or not. By the way, apart from Neeraj, eyes will also be on Kishore Jena for India, who won the silver medal in the Asian Games last year with a throw of 87.54 meters.