Doha Diamond League 2025 LIVE: Neeraj Chopra Leads Indian Contingent; Arshad Nadeem Opts Out

Doha Diamond League 2025 LIVE: Neeraj Chopra will be in Doha at Suheid bin Hamid Stadium, on Friday at the Doha Diamond League event. Chopra will look to secure the gold in a field of 11 competitors including fellow Indian athlete Kishore Jena.

We will also be seeing two other Indians in the 5000m race - Gulveer Singh, and Parul Chaudhary will also be competing in the 3000m steeplechase.

The men's javelin will be without reigning Olympic men's champion Arshad, a significant absence indeed. Currently, Arshad is preparing for the Asian Athletics Championship which will take place from May 27-31 in South Korea.

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Arshad will be departing for Gumi on May 22, for the Asian Athletics C’ship.

With Arshad's absence, Neeraj will not only compete but will be looking to finally cross the elusive 90m barrier. Speaking to Al Jazeera, the Indian athlete said, “I feel reinvigorated and am in great shape physically. In addition to the physical aspect, Zelezny has also passed on tips that help me deal with the mental part of being an athlete. It helps keeps the pressure at bay. I have been training and performing consistently, which forms the basis of achieving the best results on the field. No one can predict what will happen on the day of the competition but I am always looking to go beyond my previous best. Several javelin athletes have thrown their personal best in Doha and I aim to do the same on Friday.”

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Recently Neeraj also opened up about his relationship with Arshad after he received abuse from fans amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. He told reporters, “First, we were never really close friends or something. And things won't be the same after this (referring to the recent Indo-Pak tensions) but if someone talks to me respectfully I reciprocate the respect.”

Naeem received abuse from fans on X after what happened in Pahalgam last month, after he sent an invite to Arshad to stay at his house. Meanwhile, Arshad also declined the invite, after the attack. However, Neeraj also had to post on social media to clarify that the invite was sent before the Pahalgam attack.

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