Yasir wins bronze with personal best throw

LAHORE: Pakistan’s No2 javelin thrower Mohammad Yasir Sultan on Sunday extended incredible performance and won bronze medal in the 25th Asian Athletics Championships at Bangkok.

The 25-year-old Yasir engineered his personal best throw of 79.93 metre to finish with a bronze. He had achieved his personal best throw of 77.50 metre at the 34th National Games in Quetta.

Japan’s Genki Dean Roderik claimed gold with a throw of 83.15 metre while India’s Devarakeshavi Prakasha Manu with 81.01m effort snared silver. When Yasir managed a 79.93m throw in his sixth and final attempt it was the turn of the Indian Prakasha Manu to beat Yasir and he managed to surpass the Pakistani lad to win silver for his country.

Athletics Federation of Pakistan’s (AFP) President Major General (retd) Mohammad Akram Sahi was extremely happy with the achievement. “Yasir did a stunning job,” Sahi told ‘The News’ from Bangkok where he witnessed Yasir’s exploit.

“He showed marked improvement. Having engineered his personal best at such a major event is highly praiseworthy,” Sahi said.

“Fayyaz Bukhari worked with him and he also deserves appreciation and now we will put Bukhari with Yasir permanently,” said Sahi, also a former international athlete.

Asked whether Yasir now will also be on the AFP’s radar for foreign training Sahi said he will also now be on that list.

“Yes we will now focus on Arshad Nadeem, Yasir and Shajar as far as foreign training is concerned,” Sahi said.

Yasir’s coach Fayyaz Bukhari also thanked God for the way his pupil pulled off his personal best throw and a medal for the nation.

“Thanks God it’s a great achievement to pull off his personal best throw,” Bukhari told this correspondent.

Yasir had been stuck for three years around 75 metre and it was Bukhari who worked on his faults which paid dividends. AFP had assigned Bukhari the task to train Yasir for around 25 days ahead of the Asian Championships and Bukhari was seen working hard on him at the Punjab Stadium Lahore in simmering heat.

Before this official training camp Yasir also used to train under Bukhari. “Before this camp we trained for six months. General Sahib had told me to work with Yasir and improve his throw. We worked for 25 days like labourers. There was also a camp of rugby at the stadium and that created an issue for us and we tried to train at unusual times but we were committed to training at every cost,” Bukhari said.

“I knew that Yasir would deliver. I had told you a couple of months ago that I have brought him in the 80 metre bloc. If an athlete performs then it becomes national cause. When he managed 77.50m throw in the National Games I thought that it was now national cause and I could not ignore him as a coach,” Bukhari said.

“Both Arshad and Yasir should be with us at the world and Asia levels now,” he said. “We need to invite all the top athletes and form a back-up of seven to eight who can manage 80m plus throw,” Bukhari said.

With this Pakistan’s journey in the continental event ended. The Green-shirts will return on Tuesday (tomorrow). In the event, Pakistan fielded four athletes and of them Esha Imran did not compete as she was stopped from featuring in the continental event after the news emerged that she had failed dope test which was conducted at the 34th National Games in Quetta.

Pakistan’s top sprinter Shajar Abbas fell in the semi-finals in both the 100m and 200m. However on the tour he created a new national record in the 100m with a time of 10.37 seconds. Abdul Mueed Baloch, a specialist in the 200m and 400m, faltered badly in the event.