From the land of Milkha, Neeraj and Nadeem come to conquer the world & spread peace

One hails from the region where the legendary Milkha Singh was born, while the other comes from the region where Milkha spent a significant part of his life. In a historic achievement at the World Athletics Championship on Sunday, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem secured the top two positions on the podium in the men's Javelin event. This marks the first instance in the history of javelin throwing where two out of three medals have been won by Asian athletes, specifically from South Asia.

Neeraj threw 88.17m to take the top honors, while Nadeem reached 87.82m. Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch finished third with a throw of 86.67m.

Thanks to the remarkable performances of Neeraj and Nadeem, South Asia has now established itself as a dominant force in the men's javelin event. Both athletes hail from a region that was once part of undivided Punjab during the pre-partition era. The legendary athlete Milkha Singh was born on the western side of undivided Punjab and spent a major portion of his life on the eastern side. The Radcliffe Line displacement, like that experienced by millions, caused a young Milkha, who was born in village Basti Bukhari (then Govindpura) now falls in the Punjab province of Pakistan, to move from one side to the other. He became the first prominent figure in the field of athletics from the South Asian region.

Milkha's ascent in sports became intertwined with the Partition, making him a household name on both sides of Punjab (across the region that falls under the undivided Punjab).

Neeraj, who hails from the Panipat district of Haryana, comes from the state carved out of unified Punjab.

Neeraj dedicated his Olympic medal in Tokyo to the late Milkha Singh, who passed away in June 2021 in Chandigarh, the capital city of Punjab, India, a couple of months before the Tokyo Olympics.  

Neeraj, 25, and Nadeem, 26, who hails from Mian Channu thesil in the Punjab province of Pakistan, share a deep bond and advocate for brotherhood on both sides of the Radcliffe Line.

To be continued

https://www.pixstory.com/story/spreading-peace-through-sports-1693229653/255595