India's Olympic javelin gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has ruled out the participation of Pakistani rival Arshad Nadeem at his upcoming meet in Bengaluru next month, stating that it is "completely out of the question".
This decision comes in the wake of a deadly attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which resulted in the deaths of 26 tourists, further straining already tense relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Before the attack, Chopra had announced invitations to top international throwers, including Nadeem, for the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic scheduled for May 24. The event was aimed at paving the way for a Diamond League meet in India one day.
However, the attack in IIOJK prompted heavy criticism of Chopra's decision to invite Nadeem, even though it was unlikely the Pakistan thrower was going to attend.
"There has been so much talk about my decision to invite Arshad Nadeem to compete in the Neeraj Chopra Classic, and most of it has been hate and abuse," Chopra, who won gold in Tokyo and silver in Paris, said in a social media post on Friday.
"The invitation I extended to Arshad was from one athlete to another — nothing more, nothing less. The aim of the NC Classic was to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be the home of world-class sporting events.
"After all that has taken place over the last 48 hours, Arshad's presence at the NC Classic was completely out of the question."
Media reports said Nadeem, Pakistan's first individual Olympic gold medallist, had opted not to attend the Bengaluru meet, which clashed with his training schedule for the Asian Championships in South Korea next month.
The soured relations between the two countries also spilled over to the sports world earlier this year when India's cricket team refused to travel to Pakistan for the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Champions Trophy and played all their matches, including the March 9 final, in Dubai.
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