File photo of Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem© Twitter
Pakistan’s javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem scripted few days back as he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and as a result, he brought the country’s first gold medal in the sport at the CWG. Now, Arshad’s coach Syed Hussain Bukhari has said that he wishes to see Neeraj Chopra competing with Arshad at either Islamabad or Lahore. He also went on say that Neeraj is like their son and they will shower him with love if he ends up winning.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Bukhari said: “Most of the time, Arshad trains at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad and Lahore too, my wish is to see Arshad and Neeraj compete at a packed stadium in Lahore or Islamabad. Neeraj is also like our son.”
“I as a Pakistani promise you that if Neeraj wins, we will shower him the same love we showered on Milkha Singh Ji when he won against Abdul Khaliq in Lahore in 1960. Athletes share a common bond of love for the sports,” he added.
In the final at the CWG, Nadeem pulled off a throw of 90.18m and hence he became the first South Asian to break the 90m mark.
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Chopra had missed the Commonwealth Games after sustaining an injury at the World Championships final, where he ended up winning a silver medal.
“After Arshad’s Asian Games bronze and Tokyo Olympics qualification topping, I can say I get to see 30-40 javelin throwers in almost each training ground in Lahore. In recent months, I have seen youth coming from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and from near the Pakistan-China border areas come to enquire about trials at Lahore. What Neeraj did for India, Arshad’s Olympic participation and today’s record can do the same in Pakistan,” said Bukhari.
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