The highly anticipated javelin showdown between India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem will not take place at the Silesia Diamond League 2025, scheduled for August 16 in Poland. Both star throwers are absent from the official men’s javelin throw entry list released this week.
For athletics fans, this meet was set to be the first Neeraj vs. Nadeem face-off since their dramatic clash at the Paris 2024 Olympic final, where Nadeem took gold with a stunning throw and Neeraj secured silver. Event organisers had teased their participation in early July, building excitement for another chapter in the Indo-Pak javelin rivalry.
Arshad Nadeem’s withdrawal was not a surprise. The Pakistani ace underwent surgery on his right calf in London last month and is currently in rehabilitation. His coach had already confirmed that the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion would skip the Silesia meet to focus on recovery ahead of bigger events.
Nadeem, who has been Pakistan’s leading track and field athlete for years, is now working towards full fitness in time for the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo next month.
Neeraj Chopra’s absence, however, is unexpected. The Indian Olympic champion has had an impressive start to his 2025 season and showed no signs of injury in recent competitions. No official reason has been provided yet for his decision to skip the Poland meet.
Neeraj began his season with victory at the Potch Invitational in South Africa, followed by a silver at the Doha Diamond League where he crossed the 90m mark for the first time in his career with a record-breaking 90.23m throw — setting a new Indian national record.
He later secured podium finishes across Europe, placing second at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland before winning gold at the Paris Diamond League. His winning streak continued at the Ostrava Golden Spike in Czechia and the NC Classic in India.
Both Neeraj and Nadeem have their sights set on the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo, where they will renew their rivalry on the global stage. At the last edition in Budapest in 2023, Neeraj claimed gold while Nadeem settled for silver.
Before Tokyo, the Lausanne Diamond League on August 20 will be the final major event featuring men’s javelin throw. While both athletes were initially expected to compete there, their participation remains uncertain given recent developments.
With two of the sport’s biggest names missing from Silesia, the men’s javelin field in Poland will now see a different set of contenders vying for top honours — but the world will have to wait a little longer for the next Neeraj Chopra vs. Arshad Nadeem battle.