Pakistan’s Paris Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem was already expected to skip the Silesia Diamond League due to recovery from a recent calf surgery, and now India’s Neeraj Chopra has also pulled out of the August 16 meet in Poland.
The event had been billed as the stage for the first Chopra–Nadeem showdown since their intense clash at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where Nadeem claimed gold and Chopra settled for silver. In early July, organizers of the Silesia Diamond League had hinted at the high-profile rematch.
However, Nadeem’s participation was ruled out last month after he underwent surgery on his right calf in London. His coach confirmed his absence well before the official men’s javelin throw entry list was released this week, which does not include his name.
Chopra’s withdrawal, on the other hand, comes as a surprise, with no official reason yet provided for the decision.
The Indian ace has enjoyed a strong run in the 2025 season. He opened his campaign with a victory at the Potch Invitational in South Africa, followed by a second-place finish at the Doha Diamond League, where he became the first Indian to cross the 90m mark with a record-breaking 90.23m throw.
He finished runner-up again at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland but rebounded with wins at the Paris Diamond League, the Ostrava Golden Spike in Czechia, and the NC Classic in India.
Both Chopra and Nadeem are now gearing up for the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo next month. At the last edition in Budapest, Chopra captured gold ahead of his Pakistani rival.
Before Tokyo, the Lausanne Diamond League on August 20 remains the final major competition featuring men’s javelin throw, and both athletes were initially tipped to take part there as well.
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