KONYA: Arshad Nadeem on Friday won the first gold medal for Pakistan during the javelin throw competition at the 2022 Islamic Solidarity Games.
The athlete pitched the javelin at a record speed of 88.55 metres in the air. In his first attempt, Nadeem threw the javelin at a speed of 79.40 metres, followed 88.55 metres, 75.50 metres, 82.40 metres, and 83.33 metres.
Last week during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Nadeem brought home a gold medal fin the javelin throw competition. He also bagged a gold during the South Asian Games and the Imam Raza Cup held in Iran.
During his fifth and final attempt, the Olympian set a new CWG record of a 90.18m throw and became the first Pakistani to hold the record.
At least 4,000 athletes from 56 Muslim countries are competing in 24 different games while vying for a total of 355 medals.
Before Turkey, the Games had been staged in Saudi Arabia (2005), Iran (2010), Indonesia (2013) and Azerbaijan (2017). The Tehran edition, however, had to be called off following a dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia.