Neeraj Chopra to clash with Arshad Nadeem in Silesia Diamond League amid India-Pakistan tensions

Neeraj Chopra, the two-time Olympic medallist, is set to reignite his rivalry with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem at the upcoming Silesia Diamond League 2025. This will be their first face-off since the Paris Olympics 2024, and also amid the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan.

Silesia Diamond League 2025 is set to take place in Poland on August 16.

Although the official lineup for the Silesia Diamond League 2025 is yet to be out, organisers have already confirmed that both Chopra and Nadeem will be competing in the event.

"Neeraj Chopra will face Arshad Nadeem. The Indian-Pakistani battle awaiting the Polish fans will be the first opportunity for revenge after the Paris Olympics," read an official statement from the organisers, as quoted by Olympics.com.

On July 5, he won the top prize at the first-ever Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025, a competition named after him. It was held at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium in Bengaluru.

Recently, World Athletics updated its rankings, putting Neeraj back at number one with 1,445 points. He moved ahead of Grenada’s Anderson Peters, who has 1,431 points. However, Pakistan’s Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem remains ahead of Neeraj on the list. He is currently ranked fourth with 1,370 points.

Neeraj had lost his top spot to Peters in September 2024, just after the Paris Olympics, where Neeraj won the silver medal with a throw of 89.45m. On the other hand, Peters took bronze.

The year 2025 has been full of wins for Neeraj. He began the year with a victory at the Potch Invitational in South Africa in April. At the Doha Diamond League, he finished second but threw over 90 metres (90.23m) for the first time in his career.

He continued to perform well, placing second at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland. He also bagged titles at both the Paris Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike, with best throws of 88.16m and 85.29m respectively.