Neeraj Chopra-Arshad Nadeem Controversy: Uncle Drops Bombshell On 'No Friendship' Claim- Exclusive

In the backdrop of swirling controversy and social media chatter, Tokyo Olympics champion Neeraj Chopra's uncle, Bhim Chopra, has spoken out with sharp clarity: "Neeraj never said Arshad Nadeem was his friend."

The reigning world champion, who recently crossed the coveted 90m mark at the Doha Diamond League with a mighty 90.23m throw, has been under scrutiny not for his performance, but for his perceived camaraderie with Pakistan's Javelin star Arshad Nadeem.

The spark? An invitation extended to Paris Olympics gold medalist Nadeem for the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru, days before a tragic terror attack in Pahalgam claimed the lives of 26 civilians.

"Look, we didn't react to it, Neeraj spoke about it in the press conference and his intention was not wrong. All the players were invited for the respect of the players," Bhim Chopra told OneIndia.

"And two days later, the things happened, so, there was no point to coming for the players to participate in NC Classic, because the situation was so big, so there is nothing more than that, and you must have never heard from Neeraj himself that Arshad Nadeem is not his friend, Neeraj has never been so close to him." He added.

Neeraj himself reinforced that sentiment at the Doha Diamond League pre-event press conference. "I want to clarify we were never friends. Now, after recent events, it definitely won't be like before," he said, shutting down the assumptions with trademark poise.

Neeraj's monumental 90.23m throw in Doha brought cheer to Indian athletics fans, though it wasn't enough to clinch gold Germany's Julian Weber stunned the field with a 91.06m throw in the final round to clinch gold.

As the politics between nations bleed into sport, Bhim Chopra's candid remarks and Neeraj's composed response send a clear message: respect remains, but friendship was never the story.

Sport stays sacred. The rest is noise.