'We were never close friends': Neeraj Chopra clears the air on bond with Arshad Nadeem after India-Pak conflict

India’s Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday clarified his relationship with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, stating that the two were never really close friends.

"First I would like to clarify that I don't have very strong relationship (with Nadeem), we were never really close friends or something," Neeraj said in a press conference ahead of the Diamond League in Doha. 

His comments came after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire following New Delhi's retaliatory strike in Islamabad, in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Kashmir on April 22. Earlier, Neeraj Chopra and his family faced intense social media backlash for inviting Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem to the now-postponed Neeraj Chopra Classic javelin event in Bengaluru, following the India-Pak conflict. 

"But, because of this (tensions on the Indo-Pak border), it will not be like before. But if someone talks to me respectfully, I reciprocate the respect," Neeraj told reporters on his relations with Nadeem. "Yes, as an athlete we have to talk, I have some good friends from the athlete community from all around the world, not only in javelin throw, but also in other events. If somebody talks to me respectfully, I will also talk to him with full respect," he said. 

"Javelin is a very small community and everyone is competing for their country and everyone wants to give their best," Neeraj added. Nadeem is the reigning gold medalist in javelin throw, while Neeraj won silver at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, a reversal of their podium finishes at the 2020 Tokyo Games, where Neeraj took gold and Nadeem missed out.

Neeraj had earlier said he was deeply hurt to see his and his family's integrity being questioned in abusive social media posts after an invitation was extended to Nadeem to compete in the tournament held in his honour.

Chopra had then clarified that invites for NC Classic were sent out a day before the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists with links to Pakistan.