ISLAMABAD: In a stunning display of skill, Pakistan’s premier javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem not only secured a spot in the final of the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Hungary but also guaranteed his participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a remarkable 86.79-meter throw on Friday.
Amidst a gathering of top international athletes, Nadeem commenced with a throw spanning 70.63 meters. However, he swiftly rebounded in a remarkable display of resilience and surged past the 81-meter mark on his second attempt.
He also crossed the Olympic qualifying benchmark of 83 meters, pushing his way into the group of top 12 international javelin throwers that will compete with one another in France in the coming year.
“WAPDA Sports Board athlete Arshad Nadeem, representing Pakistan in World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary, qualified for Javelin Finals with 86.79 meter throw,” announced Pakistan’s state-owned public utility company, WAPDA, in a social media post while sharing a video of Nadeem’s latest throw. “He also qualified for Paris Olympic Games 2024.”
The star Pakistani sportsman hails from a small town, Khanewal, located in Punjab province. He is one of the nine children of a daily wage laborer who showed great versatility as an athlete from a young age while dabbling in all kinds of sports at school.
Although his family lacked financial means to encourage Nadeem’s enthusiasm for sports, his spirit earned him the support he needed, with his elder brothers working to help him build a career in athletics.
Last year, he won the top medal at the Commonwealth Games in a fifth-round throw of 90.18 meters, making a new record at the games where he currently holds the title of the biggest throw recorded by a South Asian athlete.
