Arshad Nadeem targets 100m throw at Asian Athletics Championship

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Olympic gold-medalist Arshad Nadeem on Wednesday shared that he is targeting to breach the 100-metre barrier in the Asian Athletics Championship, scheduled to take place in Korea from May 27 to 31.

Nadeem, who is training rigorously at the Punjab Stadium here, vowed to give his best in the upcoming tournament, for which he is set to depart on Thursday. “I will leave tomorrow for the Asian Athletics Championships. I will try to perform well at the event,” said Nadeem.

“I am targeting a 100-meter throw, and I’m working hard, and by the will of Almighty Allah, I will achieve it one day,” he added. Nadeem also shared his post-Asian Athletics Championship plans, stating that he will depart for England after Eid-ul-Adha to prepare for the World Athletics Championship, alongside coach Salman Butt.

Nadeem was then probed about Indian counterpart Neeraj Chopra’s recent remarks, in which the latter claimed that he does not share a close bond with the Olympic gold-medalist despite showing camaraderie in the past.

“First, I would like to clarify that I don’t have a very strong relationship with Arshad. We were never really close friends or anything. But because of this [recent conflict], it will not be like before,” Chopra had said.

“I never had a very deep friendship with him, but we were always respectful toward each other,” he added. “Yes, as athletes we have to talk. I have good friends from the athletics community all over the world — not just in javelin, but in other events too,” he explained. —