Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem threw a massive 86.40m to win gold in the men’s javelin final at the Asian Athletics Championship in Gumi, South Korea, on Saturday.
India’s Sachin Yadav took silver with an 85.16m and Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama took home bronze with an 83.75m throw. Both athletes threw a personal best.
After leading the field in the first few throws, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage was bumped off the podium to finish fourth with an 83.27m throw.
Pakistan’s Muhammad finished eighth with a 75.39m throw, after India’s Yash Vir Singh with an 82.57m throw personal best throw.
China’s Hu Haoran threw a season best 80.93m to finish sixth, while Sri Lanka’s Sumedha Jagath Ranasinghe Ranasinghe Mudiyanselage finsihed seventh with a 79.81m throw.
Speaking to Dawn.com after the final, Nadeem’s coach Salman Butt said: “It was a good performance, especially since this was his first competition of the season.
“If there had been one day of rest between [yesterday’s] heats and finals, he would have had more recovery and a better throw. But this is a good start,” he said.
Nadeem, who holds the Olympic record after throwing a monstrous 92.97m at Paris 2024, narrowly missed breaking the championship record of 86.72m.
Nadeem had a slow start in the competition, throwing 75.64m and 76.80m on his first and second attempts before bagging top spot with an 85.57m throw on his third attempt. He then threw 83.99m and 83.44m before flexing his muscles and throwing a commanding 86.40m to win gold in his sixth and final attempt in true Arshad Nadeem fashion.
All eyes were on Nadeem as he stepped up to the field for his first throw, with Pakistani flags being waved by the audience.
‘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.”
Nadeem’s gold is Pakistan’s first and only medal at the championship.
Earlier in the week, Pakistan’s fastest female sprinter Tameem Khan finished 17th in the Women’s 100m heats with a 12.14.
Meanwhile, top sprinter Shajar Abbas ran a 47.17 in the Men’s 400m heats, and a 47.38 in the semi-finals, where he finished 12th. Compatriot Abdul Mueed ran a 50.10 in the heats and finished 27th.
Nadeem will soon be going to England to prepare for September’s World Athletics Championships.
