New Delhi: Neeraj Chopra’s uncle Bhim Chopra expressed distress over the social media abuse directed at Neeraj and his family in the past of couple of days. The star javelin thrower had also issued a statement on social media on Friday morning.
The Tokyo Olympics gold-medallist and Paris Olympics silver-medallist has copped criticism for inviting Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem to the Neeraj Chopra Classic, an event scheduled to be held next month in Bengaluru.
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“I am deeply pained by the turn of events. This (hate and abuse) is uncalled for. Neeraj has time and again proved to the country that he is a proud son of India. He has brought so many laurels for the country. When some people start questioning your integrity, then it certainly hurts you,” he told TOI.

“It’s natural for anyone to express any anguish when his or her family is targeted for unnecessary reasons. Neeraj has already expressed his views on his social media accounts. He was pained. The whole Chopra family stands by him,” he added.

The social media abuse and hate has only gathered momentum since the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 which claimed lives of 26 people and injured several others.

In the statement on Friday morning, world champion Chopra came out strongly at the abuse. Self-confessed “man of few words”, Neeraj expressed deep hurt at having his integrity questioned and emphasised his commitment towards his nation. He mentioned that he was particularly hurt by his family being subjected to unnecessary hate and abuse.

“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,” Neeraj stated on his social media account.

He reiterated that the invitation was simply a gesture from one athlete to another and that the main goal of the NC Classic is to bring top athletes to India.

He clarified that invitations for the event had gone out on Monday, two days before the Pahalgam terrorist attack After the attack, Neeraj noted, the participation of the Paris Olympic gold medallist Nadeem was out of question.

Neeraj lamented the shifting opinions and false narratives being spread, following the attack. “I have carried my country with pride for so many years now, and so it hurts to see my integrity being questioned. It pains me that I have to explain myself to people who are targeting me and my family, with no good reason. We are simple people, please don’t make us out to be anything else. There are so many false narratives that certain sections of the media have created around me, but just because I do not speak up, it doesn’t make it true.”

“When my mother — in her simplicity — had made an innocent comment a year ago, there was an outpouring of praise for her views. Today, the same people haven’t held back from targeting her for that very same statement. I, meanwhile, will work even harder to ensure that the world remembers India and looks at it with envy and respect for all the right reasons,” he said, pointing out the inconsistency of people’s reactions.
Nadeem had announced on Wednesday his inability to participate in the the NC Classic (May 24) anyway, attributing his absence to prior commitments at the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea.
The 28-year-old from Khanewal, Pakistan, conveyed that he will take part in the Asian meet, which is scheduled from May 27-31, and will depart on May 22 to continue his training programme in the venue city of Gumi.

Indian javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra on Friday (April 25, 2025) said he has been bombarded with “hate and abuse” for inviting Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem to next month’s NC Classic.
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Indian javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra on Friday (April 25, 2025) said he has been bombarded with “hate and abuse” for inviting Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem to next month’s NC Classic in Bengaluru, saying that the Olympic champion’s presence was “completely out of question” in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Tokyo Olympics gold-medallist and Paris Games silver-winning star from Haryana said he was deeply hurt to see his and his family’s integrity being questioned in abusive social media posts.

Chopra invited Nadeem, who defeated the Indian in Paris last year to win gold, for the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic to be held in Bengaluru on May 24.

“After all that has taken place over the last 48 hours, Arshad’s presence at the NC Classic was completely out of the question. My country and its interests will always come first,” Chopra, who is a Subedar Major in the Indian Army, said in a lengthy post on ‘X’.

“To those that are going through the loss of their people, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Along with the entire nation, I am both hurt and angry at what has taken place,” said Chopra.

“I am confident that our country’s response will show our strength as a nation and justice will be served,” he added.

Nadeem had declined to come citing other commitments.

The 27-year-old Chopra said he is well aware of the chatter surrounding his invitation to Nadeem after the Pahalgam attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were gunned down by terrorists.

“…most of it has been hate and abuse. They haven’t even left my family out of it,” said Chopra.

“I usually am a man of few words, but that doesn’t mean I will not speak up against what I think is wrong. More so when it comes to questioning my love for our country, and the respect and honour of my family,” he wrote.

Chopra said invites for NC Classic were sent out on Monday, a day before the Pahalgam terror attack.

“The invitation I extended to Arshad was from one athlete to another — nothing more, nothing less. The aim of NC Classic was to bring the best athletes to India and for our country to be the home of world-class sporting events.

“Invites had gone out to all athletes on Monday, two days (sic) before the terrorist attacks at Pahalgam,” he added.

Targetting of Neeraj Chopra’s mother

Chopra also highlighted the targetting of his mother, Saroj, for her statement after the Paris Games last year in which she described Nadeem as akin to her son.

“I also find it difficult to understand how people switch opinions. When my mother – in her simplicity – had made an innocent comment a year ago, there was an outpouring of praise for her views.

“Today, the same people haven’t held back from targeting her for that very same statement.” “I, meanwhile, will work even harder to ensure that the world remembers India and looks at it with envy and respect for all the right reasons”, said Chopra. One of India’s most decorated athletes, Chopra said he has represented the country with pride for several years.

“…so it hurts to see my integrity being questioned. It pains me that I have to explain myself to people who are targeting me and my family, with no good reason,” he wrote.

“We are simple people, please don’t make us out to be anything else. There are so many false narratives that certain sections of the media have created around me, but just because I do not speak up, it doesn’t make it true”, said Chopra.

Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa will be the cynosure of all eyes as he takes on a strong field sans Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the Superbet Rapid and blitz tournament, a part of the grand chess tour, that gets underway here on Saturday.

With his buddy Aravindh Chithambaram as company, Praggnanandhaa is one of the front runners for the title as the absence of Carlsen after two winning triumphs has thrown the field wide open.

Alireza Firouzja, the Iranian-turned-French, starts as the hot bubble waiting to be busted while his compatriot Maxime Vachier-Lagrave would like to live on the legacy built for the French players in the last decade.

While there are only two Indian contestants among the ten players, it remains to be seen who will win the Grand Chess Tour this year — a series of events that award points based on each performance. For the records, the total prize pool of the event is 175000 USD with an added attraction of being part of the grand prize at the end of the season.

The absence of Magnus Carlsen stems from his own admission that the classical format no longer excites him. The world No. 1 since 2011, the Norwegian has shifted his focus to Chess960 — now rebranded as ‘Freestyle Chess’ — and has been enjoying remarkable success, winning the last two events he participated in over the past fortnight.

Praggnanandhaa will be the one to watch out for given his accuracy in speed chess that has scalps including that of Carlsen on a few occasions. For Aravindh Chithambaram, his foray here happened largely because he did exceedingly well to win the Prague Masters that propelled the organisers to offer him a wild card spot.

Levon Aronian and Veselin Topalov are the two most experienced players in the circuit, but it seems unlikely they will pose a serious challenge to the young cavalry.

Duda Jan-Krzyfztof of Poland and Firouzja might be prime contenders, but those know the might of Praggnanandhaa, never right him off. The Indian had done a remarkable job winning the Tata Steel Masters earlier this year beating world champion D Gukesh and the fans will be looking for an encore from the Chennai magician.