LAHORE: Pakistan’s premier javelin thrower and world silver medallist Arshad Nadeem is set to fly out of Lahore for South Africa on Thursday to undergo training for five weeks.
Arshad confirmed his departure while talking to this correspondent on Monday. “Yes, I will fly on Thursday night,” Arshad told ‘The News’. Arshad will be trained by the world’s most popular coach Terseus Liebenberg at the facility of the North West University. Terseus was named as the best coach of the past two decades by the South Africa Athletics Annual, a publication of the South Africa Athletics Statisticians in 2021-2022.
Arshad will undergo training until May 15 before returning home. He will then focus on his progression under his local coach Salman Butt who has handled his rehab and training for the last few weeks here at the Punjab Stadium.
Terseus has the world’s best facilities at his disposal and it is a golden opportunity for Arshad to learn some new things and further enrich his knowledge of the game. He is a big sole Paris Olympics medal hope for Pakistan. In recent years he has been outstanding, having won double golds inside few days in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Turkey Islamic Games. In Birmingham he managed Games record throw of 90.18 metre which is also Arshad’s best effort.
Arshad recently underwent a laser surgery of his right knee under Dr Bajwa in Cambridge. He is under thorough watch of Bajwa who also has accompanied Arshad on various international events in the past.
“We have worked hard on rehab,” Arshad’s coach Salman Butt told The News. “He has started managing standing throws. He is yet to throw with a run up and that’s he manages while walking. We are going slowly so that we could give good enough time to injury to heal up,” Butt said.
“We are working on his different muscles. It was a ligament injury and the joint which it has held is a muscle structure. The ligament is also being healed,” Butt said. “We have spent overtime in rehab and he is MashaAllah progressing well,” Butt said.
“I share with Terseus the areas on which I have worked and I tell him that these things are weak. They have a big set up, a massive machinery and we can say that they have top level javelin centre in the world,” Butt said.
“We don’t have that system here and so we face problems and there everything is perfect and it’s a good opportunity for Arshad to train there,” Butt said. “When he will return on May 15, he will continue his training here and we will do work out for six to seven weeks and if there is an event then definitely, we will send him,” Butt said.
“At some stages when we train heavily so it causes fatigue and then you reduce the load because you need recovery and if there is no recovery then you cannot perform and your techniques start deteriorating. It runs in a cycle,” Butt said. Asked about his accreditation for the Paris Olympics Butt was hopeful that it will be done. “Yes, we have applied and it will be done inshaAllah as state has also endorsed it. Pakistan Sports Board is also taking care of us,” Butt said.
