World Athletics Championships / Javelin throw will be the final of India-Pakistan, the title fight will be between Neeraj-Arshad

World Athletics Championships: Neither in the Asia Cup, nor in the ODI World Cup 2023, the final clash between India and Pakistan is going to be the first in the field of athletics. The final clash between India and Pakistan has been announced in the World Athletics Championship being held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. On Sunday, August 27, Olympic champion and India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan's javelin star Arshad Nadeem will be face to face to become the world champion. Apart from Neeraj from India, DP Manu (81.31) and Kishore Jena (80.55) will also show their strength in the final. For the first time three athletes from India will participate in the final.

In the ongoing World Championship in Budapest, the qualifying round of men's javelin throw took place on Friday, August 25, in which three from India and Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan participated. Stars like defending world champion Anderson Peters and Jakob Wadlech of Czech Republic were also taking part in it, but the focus was on Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem and both the stalwarts did not disappoint.

Neeraj's just one throw is enough

Neeraj and Arshad were in different qualifying groups. Neeraj was in Group A and hence his qualifying session took place first. True to expectation and his reputation, Neeraj did not take much time to clear the automatic qualifying mark of 83 metres. Neeraj qualified directly for the finals with his very first throw. This throw of the Olympic champion fell directly on the mark of 88.77 meters, which was also Neeraj's best throw this season. After this, Neeraj did not do any more throws and saved his energy for the final.

Arshad slowly caught pace

Neeraj remained on the first number in his group but his eyes were on Arshad Nadeem present in the second group. Like Neeraj, this was the first big event of Arshad Nadeem, who made Javelin a hit in Pakistan. Arshad, who was returning from injury, had a slow start and started with a throw of just 70 metres. Arshad, however, made a comeback in the next two throws. In the second throw, Arshad made a throw of 81.53 meters and then in the last throw, Arshad achieved a distance of 86.79 meters to qualify for the final.

This time the competition is tough

With this, an atmosphere was created for Neeraj and Nadeem's fight in the final. Both the stars have participated in many events from 2018 Asian Games to Olympic Games and every time Neeraj has won. This time, however, a tough fight is expected between the two. Last year, in the absence of Neeraj, Arshad won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. Arshad had then achieved a mark of more than 90 metres, which has remained out of reach of Neeraj till now. In such a situation, the competition of both in the final will be more interesting and exciting this time.