Arshad Nadeem's first but biggest victory against Neeraj Chopra

Indian fans were shocked when they saw that their biggest gold medal contender, Neeraj Chopra, had finished with the silver medal at the Paris Olympics in the men's javelin throw category.

Neeraj went down to his South Asian counterpart, Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan who won the title with a humongous throw of 92.97m, resulting in a new Olympic record at the games.

This was Arshad's first-ever victory over Neeraj in the 10th meeting and he found the biggest stage possible to see this victory and claimed a medal for his country in 32 years.

First meeting

The first meeting between the two-star javelin throwers was in the 2016 South Asian Games. Neeraj won in that competition with the best throw of 82.23m whereas Arshad Nadeem finished in third position with the best throw of 78.33m.

At that time, both the throwers were in the early stages of their careers but built a foundation of a thrilling rivalry in the sport. After that, these two met twice in the junior circuit with Neeraj dominating both meetings.

Commonwealth Games 2018

The first meeting at a major competition for Arshad and Neeraj was the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where the latter improved his performance and made a massive 86.47m throw to clinch the gold medal.

However, Arshad could only manage a minimal throw of 76.02m and finished in eighth position in the final.

Asian Games 2018

Jakarta Asian Games 2018 was the first time Neeraj and Arshad finished on the same podium in a senior international tournament.

However, Neeraj was again ahead of him in the standings as he won the gold medal with a great throw of 88.06m while Arshad had to settle for a bronze medal, having an 80.75m throw.

Tokyo Olympics 2021

Arshad and Neeraj made their Olympics debut at the Tokyo Olympics and converted it into a big one as both qualified for the competition's final.

The final was also a great outing as they entered the top 8 throwers in the final. But, it was again Neeraj who stormed through to earn a historic gold for India with an 87.58m throw while Arshad settled with 5th place-finish, having 84.62m throw.

World Championships 2023

Post Tokyo, this rivalry started heating up again as they became big rivals for each other at the world championships and also had one gold-silver finish at the 2023 world championships.

Neeraj became the first Indian to win a world championship gold medal in athletics at the Budapest 2023 World Championships with a great throw of 88.17m while Arshad earned a silver medal with 87.82m

Paris Olympics 2024

After three years of scripting history for their respective country in Tokyo, Arshad and Neeraj were entering the Paris arena for their second meeting at the Olympics.

Things have changed a lot since Tokyo, as Arshad had his first 90+m throw, while Neeraj was still consistent but could not register a 90-meter throw.

This scenario was proved right as Arshad Nadeem found an epic 92.97m throw to win gold and Neeraj still in the close 90m managed an 89.45m throw to win the silver medal.

This became Arshad's first victory over Neeraj, and this rivalry heated up even more than before.

The coming competitions between the two javelin throwers will be the ones to watch for as Neeraj will be eager to get back to the top of the podium whereas, Arshad will try to build up on this momentum.

Arshad Nadeem Vs Neeraj Chopra- Head to Head

South Asian Games 2016

Neeraj Chopra (82.23m) - Gold

Arshad Nadeem (78.33m) - Bronze

Asian Junior Championships 2016

Neeraj Chopra (77.60m) - Silver

Arshad Nadeem (73.40m) - Bronze

IAAF World U20 Championships Qualification 2016

Neeraj Chopra (78.20m) - 1st

Arshad Nadeem (67.17m) - 15th

Asian Championships 2017

Neeraj Chopra (85.23m) - Gold

Arshad Nadeem (78.00m) - 7th

Commonwealth Games 2018

Neeraj Chopra (86.47m) - Gold

Arshad Nadeem (76.02m) - 8th

Asian Games 2018

Neeraj Chopra (88.06m) - Gold

Arshad Nadeem (80.75m) - Bronze

Tokyo Olympics 2021

Neeraj Chopra (87.58m) - Gold

Arshad Nadeem (84.62m) - 5th

World Championships 2022

Neeraj Chopra (88.13m) - Silver

Arshad Nadeem (86.16m) - 5th

World Championships 2023

Neeraj Chopra (88.17m) - Gold

Arshad Nadeem (87.82m) - Silver

Paris Olympics 2024

Neeraj Chopra (89.45m) - Silver

Arshad Nadeem (92.97m) - Gold