New Delhi: Pakistan’s star Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has hailed India’s Neeraj Chopra's performance in the ongoing World Athletics Championship and wished him luck ahead of Sunday's final.
“Best of luck to Neeraj. Neeraj bhai, Aap bhi achcha karein, Hum bhi achcha karein. Aapka naam hai world me, hamara bhi naam aye” (Neeraj brother, you also do well, and I also do well. You have a name in the world. I hope I also get my name in the world), Nadeem told Sportstar magazine.
Nadeem, who just came out of a year-long knee injury, produced his season-best 86.79m to book his spot in the final after Chopra in Budapest.
Chopra, who topped the qualification mark, secured his spot in the finals with a massive of 88.7m throw. Both the athletes also qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Nadeem posted a photograph on Instagram and expressed his camaraderie towards Neeraj soon after the qualifiers and said that he wants Chopra to perform well in the finals. He also sounded confident about doing well in the finals.
"My fight is with myself only. I did 90.18m at the Commonwealth Games last year and want to do better than that here. My body feels good," Nadeem added.
Both the athletes have their paths crossed many times in the game. Nadeem won Gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year with a humongous throw of 90.18m, the best by any South Asian in the sport.
With D P Manu and Kishore Jena joining Chopra, India now have three throwers in the final. The final is slated to begin at 11.45 pm (IST).
