Chopra andNadeem close friends? ‘Never really were’

Doha: Seeking to set the record straight, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday clarified that he and Arshad Nadeem were never really close friends and said “things won’t be the same” after the recent India-Pakistan conflict.

On the eve of the Diamond League here, the two-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion put things in perspective when asked about his off-field equation with Nadeem. “First I would like to clarify that I don’t have very strong relationship (with Nadeem), we were never really close friends or something. But, because of this (tensions on the Indo-Pak border), it will not be like before. But if someone talks to me respectfully I reciprocate it,” Chopra said.