Pakistan's Olympic Javelin champion Arshad Nadeem was forced to take a U-turn on touring India on counterpart Neeraj Chopra's invitation to attend a one-day event after tension peaked between the two countries over terror attacks in Kashmir.
Arshad had shown delight at Neeraj's invitation to attend a one-day meet in Bengaluru with his coach Salman Iqbal Butt telling Telecomasia.net they will consider the invite once it comes officially.
A Pakistan sports official also termed the invitation and the possible tour by Arshad as a "step towards revival of sporting ties."
But things have changed after the attacks which India blamed on Pakistan, killing 26 tourists. Pakistan countered the accusations by terming them as another "false flag operation by India."
I have declined the invitation as the calendar of activities are finalised a year earlier and I am going to attend an Asian meet in South Korea from May 27.
Arshad is preparing for the World Athletics Championship to be held in Tokyo in September. Neeraj and Arshad have cordial relations and have shared great camaraderie during the events since competing with each other in the last five years. While Neeraj won a gold in the last World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungry with Arshad finishing as silver medallist.
Neeraj also won a gold in the Tokyo Olympics where Arshad finished fifth. But the Pakistani thrower shocked the world with an astonishing throw to create a new Olympic record in Paris.
Arshad's win ended Pakistan's 32-year drought for an Olympic gold medal. He was accorded special status in Pakistan with nearly 400 million PKR awarded to him by President, prime minister and other officials.
The sporting ties between Pakistan and India are stalled since the 2008 Mumbai attacks which New Delhi blamed on militants based in Pakistan.
Despite Pakistan touring India in 2012, 2016 (T20 World Cup) and 2023 (ODI World Cup), India did not send its team to the Champions Trophy this year.
India's decision forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to host the Champions Trophy on a hybrid model with Rohit Sharma's side playing all its matches in the UAE.
In a tit-for-tat, Pakistan Cricket Board also forced the ICC to accept that Pakistan will also not send its team to India in any event until 2027.
Pakistan women's cricket team will not tour India for the women's ODI World Cup scheduled for October this year and instead play their matches at neutral venues likely to be either Sri Lanka or UAE.
