New Delhi [India], September 5 : After recovering from his injury, Paris Olympics gold medallist and Pakistan javelin thrower, Arshad Nadeem, will compete against his arch-rival from India, Neeraj Chopra, in the upcoming World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo later this month.
Neeraj, who will look to defend his javelin throw title in Tokyo, and Arshad were expected to mark their first face-off this year at the Silesia Diamond League in Poland in August.
However, the Pakistani athlete pulled out of the Silesia Diamond League in July as he underwent surgery on his right calf in England, according to Olympics.com.
The World Athletics Championships run from September 13 to 21 in Tokyo, with the men's javelin qualification on September 17 and the final the next day.
The Neeraj Chopra vs Arshad Nadeem showdown at the Japan National Stadium, where Neeraj famously won gold at Tokyo 2020, will be their first head-to-head since Paris 2024, when Nadeem hurled the Olympic record of 92.97m to clinch the gold.
Nadeem has competed only once since Paris 2024, winning gold with a throw of 86.40m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, Republic of Korea, in May.
The Paris 2024 gold medallist will be hoping to depose Neeraj of his world title in Tokyo, having finished with a silver medal behind his Indian rival in Budapest two years ago, according to Olympics.com.
The men's javelin throw event at the World Athletics Championships is also expected to see in-form German Julian Weber, who won the Diamond League last month, two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and former Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, in action.
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