Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem qualifies for Paris Olympics

Star javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem qualified for the Paris Olympics and the final of the World Athletics Championship on Friday.

The Olympian achieved the feat today in Budapest, Hungary when he notched up a throw of 86.79m while the benchmark for the Olympics was 85.50m.

Nadeem had a rusty start as he could only reach 70.63 in his first attempt. However, he came back into the reckoning with an 81.53m throw in his second attempt.

The automatic qualifying mark for the final was 83 metres or at least the top 12.

The final of the javelin throw at the World Athletics Championship will be held on Sunday, August 27.

Nadeem shot to fame when he finished fifth in the Tokyo Olympics, a feat which changed the entire life of the athlete. It not only fetched him fame and wealth but also transformed his personality.

Nadeem also finished fifth in the World Championship in the US last year. Soon afterwards he recorded his best throw of 90.18 metres in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham which is also a record throw of the quadrennial event.

He then underwent elbow and left knee surgery in London, took time in his rehab and returned to the competitive field in May at the 34th National Games in Quetta.

Although he failed to show his fitness there he managed a gold for his department WAPDA. In this event, he received a heavy blow when he injured his right knee which later forced him to skip the Asian Championship held in Bangkok recently.