ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s star athlete Arshad Nadeem on Wednesday urged fans to pray for his success at the final round of the men’s javelin throw competition at the Paris Olympics 2024, as he gears up to win the first Olympic medal for the South Asian country in decades.
Nadeem qualified for the final round of the competition on Tuesday with an 86.59-meter throw in the qualifying round. Athletes had to throw the light spear at a minimum distance of 84 meters to make it to the final round scheduled to be held on Thursday.
“I have qualified for the final of the Paris Olympics 2024 as a result of your prayers,” Nadeem said in a video message uploaded on his Instagram account.
“Please keep praying for me, the final is on August 8 at 11:25pm. So please keep praying for me so I perform well and win a medal for Pakistan.”
Nadeem, a nine-time international medalist and four-time gold medalist who came fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is Pakistan’s best shot at a medal in the ongoing competition. The Pakistani star athlete won silver at the World Championships last year and gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 with a massive 90.18m distance throw.
The last time Pakistan won a medal at the Olympics was in 1992 in Barcelona when it secured bronze in field hockey.
India’s Neeraj Chopra secured the top spot from Group B in the qualifying round, throwing the javelin a distance of 89.34 meters. He was followed by Grenadian athlete Anderson Peters, who scored a throw of 88.63 meters.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Julian Weber topped Group A with a throw of 87.76 meters, followed by Kenya’s Julius Yego from the same group who threw the javelin at a distance of 85.97 meters. Czech athlete Jakub Vadlejch recorded an impressive throw at 85.63 meters while Finland’s Toni Keranin threw the light spear at 85.27 meters.
Nadeem, who comes from humble beginnings from Khanewal city in Pakistan, is one of 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.
Though the family lacked the 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 sports, the family told Arab News in an interview in 2021.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem seeks fans’ prayers ahead of Olympic javelin final
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Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem seeks fans’ prayers ahead of Olympic javelin final
- Nadeem qualified for Olympic javelin throw final with an 86.59-meter throw
- Athlete to compete in final round of javelin throw competition on Thursday
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
