Chopra pulls out of Silesia Diamond League Meet; Nadeem also not on list
India's World Champion and Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has withdrawn from Silesia Diamond League, scheduled for August 16, with Pakistan's reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem also being absent from the list for the meet to be held in Poland.
The meet was expected to be the first clash between the Indian and Pakistani rivals since their Paris Olympics 2024 face-off, where Arshad outclassed Neeraj with a record-breaking throw that earned him a gold medal, while Neeraj had to stay content with silver.
The high-profile clash, highlighted by event organizers back in July, was in doubt as Nadeem underwent a surgery in his right calf during last month. The Pakistani star was ruled out of the competition by his coach and does not appear in the list unveiled this week.
On the other hand, the reason behind Neeraj's absence is unclear. The Indian superstar has enjoyed a spectacular start to the 2025 season.
Chopra took the top honours in the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic, a competition named after him at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium in Bengaluru last month. The reigning javelin throw champion stood triumphant with 86.18m.
Neeraj kick-started with a win at the Potch Invitational in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in April and followed it up with a very special second-place finish at Doha Diamond League, where he crossed the 90-metre mark for the first time ever, with a throw of 90.23 m.
He also went on to secure a second spot in the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial in Poland later that month and resumed his winning ways with back-to-back titles at Paris Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike this month, with best efforts of 88.16 m and 85.29 m. Most recently came his NC Classic triumph in front of his home crowd.
Neeraj and Nadeem are both aiming to take part in World Athletics Championships scheduled for Tokyo from September 13-21. During the previous edition, Neeraj had finished ahead of Nadeem to win the gold, becoming the first-ever Indian to land a gold at the marquee event.
Before the prestigious Tokyo meet, the Lausanne Diamond League on August 20 will be the last major athletics event where Neeraj could get some game time.
Lyles and Thompson
eye Olympic rematch
Meanwhile, USA's Noah Lyles and Jamaica's Kishane Thompson will reprise their historic Olympic battle in the men's 100m at Silesia.
Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson will line up in a long-awaited rematch of their thrilling Olympic 100m final.
Lyles and Thompson claimed gold and silver in one of the most dramatic 100m finals in Olympic history at Paris 2024, with both clocking 9.79 and Lyles winning the photo finish by just five thousandths of a second.
A year and two weeks on from that historic race, the two men go head to head once again at the Kamila Skolimowsa Memorial in what will be their first meeting since the Olympics.
Both men will fancy their chances of victory at the Silesia Stadium, in what could well be a dress rehearsal for another major championship final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo later this year.
Thompson is on electric form, having clocked the fastest time in the world this year with 9.75 at the Jamaican national championships in Kingston this June before claiming a first ever Diamond League win with an impressive 9.85 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene a few weeks later.
Lyles' campaign has been slowed by injury woes and the American suffered a shock defeat to Jamaica's Oblique Seville in his first 100m of the season at the Diamond League meeting in London last month.
Yet he made a winning start to his Diamond League campaign in the 200m in Monaco a week previously, beating Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo with a sharp 19.88.
Both Lyles and Thompson know a victory could also see them qualify for the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich on August 27-28.
Thompson is currently third in the 100m standings on 13 points, while Lyles is outside the qualification spots in 14th.
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