With defending champion India's Neeraj Chopra lost his gold medal in javelin throw to Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem at the Paris Olympics on Thursday night, the eyes of fans from both nations were glued to the television sets.
Moments after Arshad had punched the turf with another 91-metre throw, it was decided that Pakistan would win the gold medal. Following this, Neeraj shook his hands with Arshad with a smile, and camaraderie was evident between the two.
Though India and Pakistan share differing ideologies and often are at loggerheads politically, Neeraj and Arshad have managed to transcend boundaries and strike up a grand friendship.
Also, in cricket, the friendship between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam is well renowned. On several occasions, Babar said that he looked up to Virat as a source of inspiration.
It may sound hard to believe, but Neeraj and Arshad share a very good bond off the ground.
There have been myths that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were rivals, but the tennis giants have shown numerous times how sports is greater than geographical boundaries and political rivalries. Federer had always shown affection for Nadal as an elder brother, while Nadal considers Federer a great mate, a role model and an inspiration, reported Hindustan Times.
Another example of cross-border friendship was demonstrated by the successful tennis pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi. They were among the most feared combines in pro tennis and made the doubles final of the US Open in 2010.
Soon after Arshad's 91.79m throw in the final attempt of the javelin throw, followed by his Olympic record of 92.97m throw, Neeraj congratulated his Pakistani counterpart.
Summing up the competition, Neeraj referred it as 'the greatest javelin throw competition'.
"Javelin is not popular in India and Pakistan. I know Arshad Nadeem worked very hard, it's a great news for him and for the people in Pakistan. He deserved to win tonight, we're both making our countries proud," HT quoted Neeraj as saying.
The India-Pakistan duo's friendship began six years ago, when a heartwarming picture of the two had gone viral on social media after Neeraj and Nadeem finished 1-3 on the podium.
With years passed by, the friendship grew stronger, and in 2023, they were back together in the men's javelin draw and the duo finished 1-2 with a difference of just 0.35m between their best attempts. In that event, Neeraj took the gold, and Arshad bagged the silver.
Similarly in Paris Olympics, Arshad clinched the gold, while Neeraj picked the silver medal.
Even Neeraj's mother, while speaking to ANI, had said, "We are very happy. For us, silver is also equal to gold. The one who got the gold (Arshad) is also like our son."
With agency inputs.
