Arshad Nadeem undergoes calf surgery, will no longer compete with Neeraj Chopra

Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem's highly-anticipated javelin throw showdown with Neeraj Chopra at the Silesia Diamond League 2025 next month is now uncertain after he had surgery on his calf muscle. The 27-year-old is said to have decided on surgery now, with the upcoming World Championships in mind.

The Paris 2024 Olympic men's javelin throw gold medalist recently had an interventional surgery on his right calf from Dr. Ali Bajwa at Spire Hospital in Cambridge. Nadeem is now recovering in London. The Silesia Diamond League on August 16 in Poland was expected to be the first face-off between these two stars of India and Pakistan after their historic clash at Paris 2024, where Nadeem achieved a gold with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m. Tokyo 2020 champion Neeraj Chopra took home the silver.

Nadeem's coach Salman Butt said that the 27-year-old decided on surgery now, focusing on the upcoming World Championships. "He (Nadeem) is concentrating more on preparing for the World Championships in Tokyo in September, so he decided to undergo surgery on his calf muscle, which was bothering him for a while. I don't think they (Neeraj and Nadeem) will compete against each other till the World event," Salman Butt told PTI.