If there’s any other sport apart from cricket where people from both India and Pakistan leave everything and are glued to the television screens, it is the javelin throw. With both– Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem and India’s Neeraj Chopra creating histories individually on August 9, 2024, the javelin throw has become a new popular sport in the rival neighbouring countries.For the unversed, on August 9th, Arshad Nadeem created a new world record by throwing the javelin at a distance of 92.97m (breaking the previous Olympic record of 90.57 meters) and winning gold for it and Neeraj Chopra won a silver for throwing at a distance of 89.45m at the 2024 Paris Olympics. And while they might be rivals on-field, their off-field friendship is what has caught people’s attention and brought people closer across the India-Pak border.

Nadeem and Neeraj are pop-cultures’ new favourite brothers from different mothers. Not only do they share their passion for javelin, but they also have quite a few similarities– be it their humble upbringings in small villages across the border, or the challenges they have faced on their professional journeys. While Neeraj was born into a family of farmers in Haryana’s Khandar village, Nadeem was born to Muhammad Ashraf– who works as a mason in Pakistan’s village Mian Channu. The duo are also almost of the same age– born just a few months apart– who have now created a niche for themselves in a sport which wasn’t much heard of earlier by people in the two countries!

Their professional rivalry and off-field friendship go back to 2016 when the two had first competed against each other. “My first competition with Neeraj was in Guwahati, India, where I had thrown 78.33m breaking Pakistan’s first record back then,” Nadeem shared in a media interaction after winning at the 2024 Paris Olympics recently. Over the years, they have met and competed at several events and their friendship has only grown.
But people have often tried to create a rift between the two, however, thanks to their sportsmanship and mutual respect, Neeraj and Nadeem have not let dirty politics get between their friendship. For instance, in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there was a brief moment when Neeraj couldn’t find his javelin. He later saw Nadeem who had accidentally taken it, and had asked him to return as it was his turn to play– a request to which Nadeem instantly obliged. However, some people misinterpreted this incident and accused Nadeem on social media of trying to sabotage India. But Neeraj stood up for Nadeem and shut up the haters by saying, “I would request everyone to please not use me and my comments as a medium to further your vested interests and propaganda. Sports teaches us to be together and united. I’m extremely disappointed to see some of the reactions from the public to my recent comments.” Meanwhile, Nadeem who had landed on the fifth spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while Neeraj won the gold back then, was all praise of Neeraj despite his setback. Similarly, even though Neeraj couldn’t defend his previous gold medal at the Olympics, he praised Nadeem for his performance this time saying that it was Nadeem’s night.

More recently, in March 2024, just a few months before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Nadeem was struggling to get a new javelin or sponsors for it and it was Neeraj who supported him. Neeraj even made a public appeal to support Nadeem in getting a new javelin.
Not just Neeraj and Nadeem, but their mothers also praised both of them. After Neeraj lost the gold to Nadeem and secured a silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Neeraj’s mother Saroj Devi told ANI, “We are very happy with the silver, the one who got gold (Arshad Nadeem) is also our child and the one who got silver is also our child… All are athletes, all work hard… Nadeem is also good, he plays well, and there is no difference between Neeraj and Nadeem. We got gold and silver, there is no difference for us.”

Her sentiments were reciprocated by Nadeem’s mother, Raziah Parveen, too from across the border. Raziah Parveen told the Independent Urdu, ““They are not only friends but brothers and I also pray for Neeraj that he gets more success. Neeraj is also like our son and I pray for him that he wins medals. Winning and losing is part of sport but they are like brothers.”
Truly then, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem have not just won the Olympic medals but also shown that their hearts are also made of silver and gold. Their friendship is a beautiful testament to true sportsmanship, comradeship, mutual respect, and professionalism at a time when the world needs more of it.