Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem threw a massive 85.57m throw to lead the field in the men’s javelin final at the Asian Athletics Championship in Gumi, South Korea.
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage stands second with a 82.28m throw, and was previously leading the field until Nadeem proved his dominance to take over.
China’s Hu Haoran threw a season best 80.93m to stand at third place after the third throw.
India’s Yash Vir Singh has moved into fourth place with an 80.23m throw and becomes the fourth athlete to cross the 80m mark during today’s final.
Nadeem threw a 75.64m and 76.80m on his first and second attempts respectively, while Yasir threw 70.53m and 75.39m.
All eyes were on Nadeem as he stepped up to the field for his first throw ranked last in the throwing order. ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ was blaring in the stadium as the crowd anticipated a massive throw from the javelin superstar, who is competing internationally for the first time since last year’s Paris Olympics.
In Yesterday’s heats, Nadeem threw an impressive 86.34m throw on his first and only attempt to cruise into today’s final. Yasir had thrown a 76.07m in the heats.
After he punched his ticket to the final, Nadeem took to Instagram to say: “As always I would need your support and prayers.”
In August last year, Nadeem set a new Olympic record and won a gold medal in the men’s javelin final in Paris with a 92.97m throw.
Nadeem will soon be going to England to prepare for September’s World Athletics Championships.
More to follow
