Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra on Thursday said he was pained by the controversy surrounding his comments on Pakistani Arshad Nadeem using his javelin during the Tokyo Games and called the entire furore “propaganda aimed at pushing a dirty agenda.”
“I would request everyone to please not use me and my comments as a medium to further your vested interest and propaganda,” Chopra said on his Twitter handle.
“Sports teaches us to be together and united. I’m extremely disappointed to see some of the reactions from the public on my recent comments.
“There was nothing wrong with Nadeem using my javelin to prepare, it is within rules and please do not use my name to push a dirty agenda,” he added.
Chopra, in a recent interview, stated that he was searching for his personal javelin before his first throw during the Olympic final on August 7 and found Nadeem holding it.
According to rules, any javelin submitted to the officials by a competitor for his use can also be used by any other participant. This rule applies in all field events except for pole vault.
Chopra made it clear that Nadeem had not done anything wrong. “A controversy (mudda) has come up that I had talked about taking the javelin from Pakistani participant Arshad Nadeem before my first throw in the final. It has been made into a big controversy,” Chopra said in a video clip posted along with his tweet.
“It’s is a very simple thing, we keep our personal javelin (inside a holding rack) but it can be used by anybody. “I am very sad that a big controversy has been created taking my name. We javelin throwers share a good bond and speak to each other nicely.”