My mother ‘targeting’ for…: Neeraj Chopra clarifies on invitation to Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem

Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra issued a clarification on Friday over the controversy that erupted over his invitation to Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem. Chopra said, "There has been so much talk about my decision to invite Arshad Nadeem to compete in the Neeraj Chopra Classic, and most of it has been hate and abuse."

He informed that the invites were sent to all athletes on Monday, two days before the terrorist attacks at Pahalgam. Chopra said the invitation he extended to Arshad “was from one athlete to another - nothing more, nothing less.”

"The aim of the NC Classic was to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be the home of world-class sporting events," Neeraj Chopra said.

The maiden edition of Neeraj Chopra Classic javelin throw event will be teeming with stars as the likes of Anderson Peters of Grenada and Thomas Rohler of Germany are taking part.

On Monday, Chopra had said that he had sent invitation to Nadeem to compete in the inaugural event which the Indian superstar is hosting. The event will be jointly organised by Chopra and JSW Sports in collaboration with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and World Athletics, featuring top global as well as Indian javelin throwers.

'Arshad's presence out of question'

Neeraj Chopra said, "After all that has taken place over the last 48 hours, Arshad's presence at the NC Classic was completely out of the question."

"My country and its interests will always come first. To those that are going through the loss of their people, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Along with the entire nation, I am both hurt and angry at what has taken place.

I am confident that our country's response will show our strength as a nation and justice will be served," he said.

"I have carried my country with pride for so many years now, and so it hurts to see my integrity being questioned. It pains me that I have to explain myself to people who are targeting me and my family, with no good reason," Chopra wrote in a statement posted on X.

He also flagged "so many false narratives" around him. "...just because I do not speak up, it doesn't make it true," he said.

'My mother is targeted'

Neeraj Chopra said his mother was targeting for the same comment she was praised for last year.

"I also find it difficult to understand how people switch opinions. When my mother in her simplicity — had made an innocent comment a year ago, there was an outpouring of praise for her views. Today, the same people haven't held back from targeting her for that very same statement," he said.

Last year, after Paris Olympics, Chopra's mother, Saroj Devi, had congratulated him and Arshad Nadeem. She had said, “We are very happy. For us, silver is also equal to gold. The one who got the gold is also like our son. Neeraj was injured, so we are happy with his performance. I will cook his favourite food."

Nadeem had clinched gold in the 2024 Paris Games with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m, beating Chopra who could manage 89.45m to win the silver.