“Sport teaches us how to remain united instead of discriminating,” Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem Receive Support of Bajrang Punia, Sharath Kamal Among Others

“Sport teaches us how to remain united instead of discriminating,” Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem Receive Support of Bajrang Punia, Sharath Kamal Among Others

Neeraj Chopra; Bajrang Punia

The Olympics are not only the world’s greatest stage for athletes to display their greatest talent and skill, but is also often seen as a show of unity and solidarity. Recently, an interaction between Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra and another javelin thrower, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, has caused unnecessary controversy and spread of hate among the sports community.

The finals of javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympics saw Neeraj Chopra searching for his javelin just before his first throw. The javelin was in Nadeem’s hand, and Chopra took it from him and went on hurriedly for the throw. This was later brought to the limelight, and the simple and innocent interaction was taken out of context, with many people accusing Nadeem of trying to impair the javelin.

This controversy was quickly put to bed by both the athletes, who clarified that everyone was allowed to use whichever javelin they wanted, and that no bad intentions were involved. Chopra took to twitter to clarify the issue, saying, “I would request everyone to please not use me and my comments as a medium to further your vested interests and propaganda. Sports teaches us to be together and united. I’m extremely disappointed to see some of the reactions from the public on my recent comments.”

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Nadeem said that both of them were good friends, and they were even seen sitting next to each other during their bus ride from the Athletes’ Village to the National Stadium, reliving old memories. Several other athletes also came to the support of Neeraj Chopra and of Arshad Nadeem, who had been dragged into this unnecessary conflict.

Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and several others come to the Support of Neeraj Chopra

Bajrang Punia, the bronze medallist from the Tokyo Olympics said that both of them are athletes and should be given the same amount of respect. “Whether the athlete is from Pakistan or any other country, he represents his nation. He is a sportsperson first. So it’s not like we’ll say something against that person because he is from Pakistan. There should be respect for athletes,” said Punia according to IndianExpress.

Rio Olympics Bronze medallist Sakshi Malik also came to the support of Neeraj. She said that it was inappropriate for athletes to be dragged into such controversies and be used for political reasons or to spread hate. Malik went on to say that Neeraj had been affected by what had happened, and that a very small remark had been blown out of context.

“All kinds of weird questions are being asked and news channels turned a small normal act of the Pakistani javelin thrower using Neeraj’s javelin for one attempt,” Sakshi said. “I’d urge fans to support Indian athletes and understand at same time that our on-field rivalries do not ever equate to off-field enmity. They are our friends and peers from the same sport. And no athlete will be comfortable to be used for hate against another nation.”

Sharath Kamal, Kamalpreet Kaur Also Speak Up Against Discrimination of Athletes

Sharath Kamal
Sharath Kamal

Table Tennis player Sharath Kamal also called the incident very disturbing. “When we competed in the SAFF Games in 2004 in Islamabad, there was always police or army escort with us. It was always the same person, so we got talking, and both sides realised that what we are told is different from what the reality on the ground is. We’re all the same people,” said Kamal, a five-time Olympian.

Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur also said that Nadeem was an athlete who was eager to learn. “When on the field, I can understand that players compete against each other. But once off the field, we all are good friends,” she said. “Sport does not know any boundaries. Be it India, be it Pakistan, sports should be seen in the right spirit.”

Punia and former hockey team captain Viren Rasquinha shared that same thoughts on competition on and off the field. Both athletes said that while on the ground or the mat, they are competitive in nature, but off the field there is great sportsman spirit and all athletes .

Also read: “It was not Wrong of Him to Use my Javelin to Practice,” Neeraj Chopra Clears Up Controversy About Arshad Nadeem During 2020 Tokyo Olympics finals