The stage is set for one of the most eagerly awaited contests in athletics as Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem prepare to go head-to-head in the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championship 2025 in Japan on Thursday.

The final begins at 3:53 pm.

The rivalry between India’s Chopra and Pakistan’s Nadeem has emerged as one of the defining duels in global sport.

Both arrive in Japan as Olympic champions, carrying the weight of national expectation and heightened geopolitical tensions.

Their recent encounters have already become part of athletics history.

At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Chopra clinched gold while Nadeem secured silver. The following year at the Paris Olympics, Nadeem stunned the world with a record-breaking throw of 92.97m, winning gold ahead of Chopra’s 89.45m.

India's Neeraj Chopra competes in the men's javelin throw qualification at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP/PTI)

His final throw measured 91.79m, stamping his authority on the field. It made Arshad Nadeem Pakistan’s first individual Olympic champion.

Chopra remains one of the most decorated athletes of his generation. With Olympic, World, Asian, Commonwealth and Diamond League titles to his name, he has elevated Indian athletics to the global stage.

His personal best of 90.23m, achieved at the 2025 Doha Diamond League, is India’s national record.

Nadeem’s rise has been equally significant for Pakistan. His silver at Budapest 2023 was the country’s first world championship medal. He also ended Pakistan’s six-decade wait for a Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham 2022.

In head-to-head encounters, Chopra holds a commanding 9-1 record over his rival. Their first meeting dates back to the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati, where Chopra won gold and Nadeem settled for bronze.

Despite the fraught history between their countries, the two athletes have often been seen offering support and respect to each other.

After the 2023 world final, Chopra invited Nadeem to join him for a celebratory photograph, a moment praised as a symbol of rare cross-border camaraderie. Both athletes’ words of encouragement for one another have also resonated across social media.

But the goodwill has faced strain this year. Following military conflict between India and Pakistan in May, Chopra admitted that maintaining the same friendly relationship with Nadeem would be difficult.

He clarified that while their bond had never been very deep, it had always been respectful.

Chopra also came under criticism on social media for inviting Nadeem to compete at the Neeraj Chopra Classic event which was scheduled for May 24.

Although the invitation was extended before the conflict, Nadeem declined, citing his preparation for the Asian Athletics Championship in South Korea.

The Indian event was postponed, with Chopra stating on April 25 that Nadeem’s participation was “completely out of the question.”

Thursday’s final in Japan now brings the focus back to the field, where two of Asia’s finest athletes will once again push each other to new heights.