Yasir looks to make presence felt in Asiad

LAHORE: Pakistan No2 javelin thrower Mohammad Yasir Sultan will be a real threat for Arshad Nadeem and India’s Neeraj Chopra in the 19th Asian Games which will be formally opened in Hangzhou on Saturday (today) with what could a grand ceremony.

A source close to Yasir on Friday confided in The News that Yasir is in a position to manage a throw of 85 metre plus in the Asian Games. “Yes, he has developed his feelings and he will inshaAllah manage a huge throw of around 85 metre plus,” a source close to Yasir said.

Yasir is a highly talented athlete and the form which he has gained during his hectic training he is receiving here at the Punjab Stadium may gift Pakistan a medal in the quadrennial event. A couple of months ago, Yasir won bronze in the Asian Championship in Bangkok with a throw of 79.93 metre, which is also his personal best effort.

The source said that Yasir is completely engrossed in his training and has developed the required feelings. Although world and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and world silver medallist Arshad Nadeem are normally graded as the athletes who will fight for the Asian Games gold, Yasir cannot be ruled out of the race as he has worked extremely hard under his coach Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari and may spring a big surprise for the nation.

In Asian Games javelin it will be a battle between Pakistan and India and Yasir’s entry into the limelight in recent months has instilled a further interest in what could be an amazing event which will be held in the first week of October.