Neither in the Asia Cup nor in the ODI World Cup 2023, India and Pakistan are going to have their first final on the athletics field. The final match between Pakistan and India has been announced in the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
On Sunday, August 27, Olympic champion and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra of India and Javelin star of Pakistan Arshad Nadeem will face each other to become world champions. Apart from India’s Neeraj, DP Manu (81.31) and Kishore Jenna (80.55) will also show their strength in the final. For the first time, three players from India will participate in the final.
The qualifying round of men’s javelin throw at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest took place on Friday, August 25, in which India’s three and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem participated. Stars like defending world champion Anderson Peters and Czech Republic’s Jakub Widlich were also in the running but the focus was on Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem and the two stalwarts did not disappoint.
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Neeraj and Arshad were in different qualifying groups. Neeraj was in Group A and hence had their qualifying session first. True to expectation and his reputation, it didn’t take long for Neeraj to clear the automatic qualifying mark of 83 meters. Neeraj qualified for the final directly from his very first throw.
The Olympic champion’s throw fell straight to the mark of 88.77m, which was also Neeraj’s best throw this season. After that, Neeraj didn’t make any more throws and saved his energy for the final.
Neeraj finished first in his group but had his eye on Arshad Nadeem in the second group. Like Neeraj, this was Arshad Nadeem’s first major event to make javelin success in Pakistan. Arshad, who came back from injury, had a slow start and started with just a 70m throw. However, Arshad made a comeback in the next two throws. In the second throw, Arshad threw 81.53 meters and then in the last throw, Arshad cleared a distance of 86.79 meters to qualify for the final.
The atmosphere of competition between Neeraj and Nadeem is ready for the final. Both the stars have participated in several events from the 2018 Asian Games to the Olympic Games and each time Neeraj has won. However, this time tough competition is expected between the two.
Last year, in Neeraj’s absence, Arshad won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. Arshad had then achieved a mark of over 90 meters, which has so far eluded Neeraj. In such a case, the competition between the two in the final will be more interesting and thrilling.
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