"No Pakistan-India Rivalry...": Arshad Nadeem After Neeraj Chopra Pipped Him For World Championships Gold

In Arshad Nadeem, India's Neeraj Chopra will have tough competition for the gold medal at Paris Olympics, but the Pakistani ace says for now both are just "very happy" to call the shots in a sport once dominated by the Europeans. In cricket-crazy Pakistan, Nadeem has become the toast of the nation after becoming its first athlete to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. Nadeem bagged silver in the men's javelin thrown final in Budapest on Sunday, as Olympic champion Chopra won the gold medal.

"Neeraj and I have a very healthy competition and we respect each other a lot. There is no Pakistan-India rivalry in a bad way. When we talk we are just happy that both of us have come to the fore in a competition usually dominated by Europeans," Nadeem told PTI.

It is not the first medal that Nadeem has brought home as last year he won gold in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games with a best throw of 90.18 metres.

According to Nadeem, the silver medal at the Worlds was very satisfying as he competed against Chopra, one of the best in recent years.

Chopra couldn't compete in the Commonwealth Games because of a groin injury and Arshad ran away with the gold in a field dominated by European athletes.

After the final on Sunday, Chopra made it a point to invite his Pakistani rival to go on a victory lap.

"It is a very satisfying achievement for me to get a distance of 87.82 metres as I returned to international competition after nearly a year due to my elbow surgery," he said.

The rivalry between Chopra and Nadeem has now become a subject of discussion in the javelin fraternity. What was unique on Sunday was that the first time both Pakistani and Indian athletes were in the limelight at the same time in the World Championships.