Arshad Nadeem to face Neeraj Chopra at World Championship in Tokyo

WEB DESK: After months of anticipation and a series of missed opportunities, athletics fans will finally witness one of sport’s most compelling rivalries resume this month. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem and India’s Neeraj Chopra, two of the finest javelin throwers of their generation, are set to clash at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo from September 13 to 21.

The long-awaited meeting comes after Nadeem was forced to skip July’s Silesia Diamond League in Poland due to surgery on his right calf. His withdrawal not only postponed the duel but also raised questions about his fitness heading into the crucial summer stretch. Those concerns, however, have now been put to rest.

“Arshad has fully recovered, and I have monitored his rehab and progress closely,” his doctor, Asad Abbas, told Telecom Asia. “He’s back at full strength and ready to challenge Neeraj and the rest of the field in Tokyo.”

Arshad Nadeem begins javelin training in England

The Japan National Stadium, the very ground where Chopra captured Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, will host the men’s javelin qualification on September 17, with the final scheduled for the following evening. For Nadeem, the venue also holds immense significance: it is where he will attempt to reaffirm his status as the man who toppled Chopra on the sport’s biggest stage.

Their last meeting, at the Paris 2024 Olympics, produced one of athletics’ defining moments. Nadeem hurled his javelin a record-breaking 92.97m to claim Pakistan’s first-ever Olympic athletics gold, forcing Chopra to settle for silver. Since then, the Pakistani star has competed just once, winning gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, with a throw of 86.40m.

Chopra, by contrast, has stayed active on the international circuit, fine-tuning his form and eyeing back-to-back world titles. The Indian ace will arrive in Tokyo as defending champion, but he knows the challenge posed by a rejuvenated Nadeem could be his sternest yet.

The field, however, is not limited to the South Asian duo. Germany’s in-form Julian Weber, Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Olympic gold medalist Keshorn Walcott add further intrigue to what promises to be a fiercely contested event.

For Nadeem, the mission is simple: upgrade the silver medal he earned at Budapest 2023 to gold in Tokyo. For Chopra, it is about cementing his dominance and reclaiming the spotlight. For fans across borders, the stage is set for another unforgettable chapter in their rivalry.