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Home / Sports / Other Sports / Photos / "Greatest competition in history": Chopra opens up rivalry with Nadeem

"Greatest competition in history": Chopra opens up rivalry with Nadeem

Updated On: 10 August, 2024 01:14 AM IST | Sujay Shivalkar

Here is the summarization of India`s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan`s Arshad Nadeem`s press conference after the finals of the Paris Olympics 2024 (Pic: File Pic)

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Here is the summarization of India`s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan`s Arshad Nadeem`s press conference after the finals of the Paris Olympics 2024 (Pic: File Pic)

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Here is the summarization of India`s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan`s Arshad Nadeem`s press conference after the finals of the Paris Olympics 2024 (Pic: File Pic)

Neeraj Chopra`s reason behind consecutive podium finishes "Hard work! Whatever I have is because of hard work. But still, I have to increase my consistency and throw. I have to stay fit and also need to stay away from injuries, because many times it has happened that initially, everything goes good, but once the competition arrives, I need to back out due to injuries. It can be done, I have much left in me and today it was a healthy competition. So congratulations Arshad and Anderson. The greatest competition in history"

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Neeraj Chopra`s reason behind consecutive podium finishes "Hard work! Whatever I have is because of hard work. But still, I have to increase my consistency and throw. I have to stay fit and also need to stay away from injuries, because many times it has happened that initially, everything goes good, but once the competition arrives, I need to back out due to injuries. It can be done, I have much left in me and today it was a healthy competition. So congratulations Arshad and Anderson. The greatest competition in history"

Arshad Nadeem opens up on his technique "First of all, I`m very lucky that the whole of Pakistan prayed for me. Now like you mentioned the difference between Diamond League and now. Before Diamond League, I underwent a right knee surgery which was successful. From there on, I was hopeful of performing well in the Paris Olympics. The performance at the Commonwealth Games also made me hopeful that I will bring my best in the Paris Olympics final"

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Arshad Nadeem opens up on his technique "First of all, I`m very lucky that the whole of Pakistan prayed for me. Now like you mentioned the difference between Diamond League and now. Before Diamond League, I underwent a right knee surgery which was successful. From there on, I was hopeful of performing well in the Paris Olympics. The performance at the Commonwealth Games also made me hopeful that I will bring my best in the Paris Olympics final"

Do injuries force Neeraj Chopra to change his technique? "Yes, my technique is not the same. Every year something happens wrong. In the end, just because my arm is fast, I release it with good power, that`s why the javelin reaches the distance. Now my speed has slowed down, back in 2018, I was very fast with the runway and I always believed in myself, that I could throw today. But now it`s hard to stay fit and throw that far. These groin injuries are very bad for javelin athletes"

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Do injuries force Neeraj Chopra to change his technique? "Yes, my technique is not the same. Every year something happens wrong. In the end, just because my arm is fast, I release it with good power, that`s why the javelin reaches the distance. Now my speed has slowed down, back in 2018, I was very fast with the runway and I always believed in myself, that I could throw today. But now it`s hard to stay fit and throw that far. These groin injuries are very bad for javelin athletes"

Arshad Nadeem opens up on India-Pakistan sporting rivalries "Whenever there is an India-Pakistan cricket match, both countrymen sit and watch the match. Similarly, whenever there`s a competition between me and Neeraj Chopra, they do the same. The one who works hard, the god will favour him. I and Neeraj Chopra are South-Asian players and I hope we perform well across the globe. This is inspiring for India and Pakistan`s youth to work hard and help their respective countries establish their name on the global stage"

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Arshad Nadeem opens up on India-Pakistan sporting rivalries "Whenever there is an India-Pakistan cricket match, both countrymen sit and watch the match. Similarly, whenever there`s a competition between me and Neeraj Chopra, they do the same. The one who works hard, the god will favour him. I and Neeraj Chopra are South-Asian players and I hope we perform well across the globe. This is inspiring for India and Pakistan`s youth to work hard and help their respective countries establish their name on the global stage"

Neeraj Chopra opens up on India-Pakistan sporting rivalries "First of all, it`s really good for our countries. Earlier, javelin was not that popular in India and Pakistan. Even in Grenada, Anderson has done really well for his country. I and Arshad have been competing since 2016 and god has always been with me, I always won. But today, on a really great stage, Arshad won and it`s good for him and his country. I really appreciate him for his hard work. Now in India, more athletes will come and pick javelin"

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Neeraj Chopra opens up on India-Pakistan sporting rivalries "First of all, it`s really good for our countries. Earlier, javelin was not that popular in India and Pakistan. Even in Grenada, Anderson has done really well for his country. I and Arshad have been competing since 2016 and god has always been with me, I always won. But today, on a really great stage, Arshad won and it`s good for him and his country. I really appreciate him for his hard work. Now in India, more athletes will come and pick javelin"

Neeraj Chopra on the pressure of winning a medal "This was the first time I was a defending champion on the very big stage. Earlier, I was a defending champion in the Asian Games but you cannot compare it with the Olympics. Because of my groin injury, I was not that happy. But when Arshad threw his 92.97, I don`t know but in the second throw, I believed in myself that I can do it. But still, I`m happy that I won a medal for my country"

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Neeraj Chopra on the pressure of winning a medal "This was the first time I was a defending champion on the very big stage. Earlier, I was a defending champion in the Asian Games but you cannot compare it with the Olympics. Because of my groin injury, I was not that happy. But when Arshad threw his 92.97, I don`t know but in the second throw, I believed in myself that I can do it. But still, I`m happy that I won a medal for my country"

Chopra on foul attempts in the finals of the Paris Olympics 2024 "In the qualification round, we don`t think like final. In the qualification round, all athletes were easy and relaxed, but in finals, we know it`s the main day. Today, I tried to keep my mind the same but it`s hard. I tried to go fast on the runway, but it didn`t happen. I tried throwing it much harder and that`s the reason behind it"

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Chopra on foul attempts in the finals of the Paris Olympics 2024 "In the qualification round, we don`t think like final. In the qualification round, all athletes were easy and relaxed, but in finals, we know it`s the main day. Today, I tried to keep my mind the same but it`s hard. I tried to go fast on the runway, but it didn`t happen. I tried throwing it much harder and that`s the reason behind it"

Nadeem opens up on his journey "Talking about my journey, like Neeraj mentioned it all started from village level sports. I was really good at cricket (as a bowler), football, kabaddi and badminton. Later, I stopped playing all these sports and started training for athletics at school level. I trained in shotput and many sports. I was the best athlete in Pakistan so my coach suggested me to start training for javelin saying that I have a nice physique. Even then, I wanted to pursue my career in cricket, but it was difficult to secure a place in the team. My elder brother suggested me to continue in athletics, so this is how I entered javelin"

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Nadeem opens up on his journey "Talking about my journey, like Neeraj mentioned it all started from village level sports. I was really good at cricket (as a bowler), football, kabaddi and badminton. Later, I stopped playing all these sports and started training for athletics at school level. I trained in shotput and many sports. I was the best athlete in Pakistan so my coach suggested me to start training for javelin saying that I have a nice physique. Even then, I wanted to pursue my career in cricket, but it was difficult to secure a place in the team. My elder brother suggested me to continue in athletics, so this is how I entered javelin"

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