Meme fest explodes after Pakistani analyst confuses Neeraj Chopra with Ashish Nehra; Sehwag reacts

Since they faced off against one another in 2016, India's javelin star Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan have been at odds with one another. Their Olympic results in Tokyo in 2020 further fueled their rivalry.

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Arshad broke the 90-meter barrier in the javelin throw in Neeraj's absence. The throw assisted the Pakistani athlete in winning the event's gold medal and garnering praise from people worldwide.

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Zaid Hamid, a Pakistani political analyst, made a mistake when he praised Arshad. Instead of mentioning Neeraj Chopra's name in the congratulatory tweet, Hamid confused the javelin superstar with former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra and wrote his name instead. 

"And what makes this victory more sweeter is the fact that this Pakistani athlete has destoryed Indian javelin throw hero Ashish Nehra... In the last competition Ashish had defeated Arshad Nadeem. What a sweet revenge come back," the political analyst tweeted.

It should be noted that Chopra did not participate in the men's javelin throw competition at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Due to an injury, he was forced to withdraw from the competition.

Neeraj had also congratulated Arshad on his historic achievement, saying, "Congratulations, Arshad Bhai, for gold medal and crossing 90mtr with new games record. Aage ke competitions ke liye all the best."

Also read: CWG 2022: India finish 4th with 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals; here's a list of winners

In response, Arshad said that he missed Neeraj at the event. "I felt Neeraj's absence today while competing. If he were competing today, it would have been even more fun. We are really good friends. Injuries are part and parcel of the sport. I wish the Almighty gives him good health, too. I want to use this occasion to wish him luck for the upcoming events," Arshad had said.

Meanwhile, a screenshot of the tweet from Hamid's account, which has now been withheld in India in response to a legal demand, was shared by journalist Naila Inayat. 

This has triggered a massive social media outburst and meme fest. Former Indian batting legend Virendra Sehwag too, couldn't keep himself from sharing the tweet. "Chicha, Ashish Nehra is right now preparing for UK Prime Minister Elections. So Chill," read Sehwag's cheeky tweet.

Here's a look at some of the other reactions: