Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem has declined an invitation from Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra to compete in the Bengaluru Classic Throwing Championship on May 24th.  Nadeem, in a letter to Chopra, expressed his gratitude for the invitation but cited prior commitments as the reason for his inability to attend.

Nadeem said that his schedule is already full due to pre-planned training and events, including his participation in the Asian Athletics Championship in South Korea, which begins May 27th.

He is expected to travel to South Korea in the third week of May to acclimatize before the competition.

Chopra, who personally extended the invitation, expressed his disappointment. The event was to be held in Bengaluru, India.

Meanwhile, Chopra also deplored the campaign of hate and abuse directed at him for inviting Nadeem to the event. He added that the invitation to Arshad Nadeem was from one athlete to another, ‘nothing more nothing less’. He also backtracked on inviting Nadeem after the Pahalgam attack.

“After all that has taken place over the last 48 hours, Arshad’s presence at the NC Classic was completely out of the question,” he added. He went to say that his country’s interests would always remain foremost for him.

Arshad Nadeem had won gold at javelin throw competition in the Paris Olympics last year with Neeraj Chopra grabbing silver.

Ties have been strained between India and Pakistan in recent days. After 26 tourists were killed in an attack in Pahalgam, Indian Occupied Kashmir, India announced that it would revoke visas for Pakistanis, cut Pakistani diplomatic presence and hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

In response, Pakistan also slashed Indian diplomatic presence, cancelled visas and closed its airspace for Indian aircraft. It also announced that usurping water would count as an ‘act of war’.