Picture Credit: X
Star Indian athlete, Neeraj Chopra recently grabbed eyeballs after he launched a global javelin throw event, set to take place in May 2025. The NC Classic or the Neeraj Chopra Classic as it has been named, will be a first of its kind event, scheduled to be played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on May 24. Moreover, the event will see several top-class players take the centrestage, including the likes of Anderson Peters (two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medallist), Thomas Rohler (former Olympic champions), Yulius Yego (Olympic medallist and former world champions), Curtis Thompson and several others.
Among them, Chopra also extended an invitation to world record holder and Paris Olympics gold-medallist, Arshad Nadeem, who hails from Pakistan. However, the Pakistan athlete’s participation was under the cloud, but recently declined the invitation following the recent Pahalgam terror attacks. This gesture of Neeraj Chopra extending an invitation to Nadeem got him several criticism. Seeing this, the 27-year-old has now hit back to the critics in an elaborated post, shared on his social media handles.
I am usually a man of few words, but that does not mean I will not speak up against what I think is wrong: Neeraj Chopra
Taking to X, he began, "I am usually a man of few words, but that does not mean I will not speak up against what I think is wrong. More so, when it comes to questioning my love for our country, and the respect and honour of my family.” "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," Neeraj added.
"They have not even left my family out of it. Invitation extended to Arshad was from one athlete to another - nothing more, nothing less. The aim of NC Classic was to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be home of world class sporting events. Invites had gone out to all the athletes on Monday, two days before the terrorist attack in Pahalgam," ," Neeraj wrote in a statement on X.
"After all that has taken place over the last 48 hours, Arshad's presence at the NC Classic was completely out of question. My country and its interest will always come first," the javelin thrower emphasised. “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,” Neeraj wrote further.
The 27-year-old further did not hide his emotions as people questioned his patriotism, adding, “I also find it difficult to understand how people switch opinions. When my mother — in her simplicity — made an innocent comment a year ago, there was an outpouring of praise for her views. Today, the same people have not held back from targeting her for that very same statement."
