Arshad to start training this week

KARACHI: Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s premier javelin thrower, will resume his training this week, his coach Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari said.

“Yes I have told Arshad to come as soon as possible to Lahore and we will resume training later this week. He had some domestic engagement and he will be here in two or three days and soon afterwards we will start training,” Fayyaz told ‘The News’ from Lahore on Tuesday.

This will be after a break of 18 days that Arshad will train. He had gone to Turkey where he had gone to undergo training under the World Athletics coach Viktor of Kazakhstan for two weeks. The training lasted until April 30. But he remained stuck in Antalya due to flight issues and returned to Pakistan on May 5. Arshad then went to his home in Khanewal and is still there.

“The federation has also told him to report for the camp immediately as time is short,” Fayyaz said.

The coach was confident that Arshad will be in top shape ahead of the Olympics. “He is a fast learner and we will cover everything in the time that we have,” Fayyaz said.

Before flying to Turkey for training Arshad had bettered his personal best throw as he managed a throw of 86.38 metre in an international event in Iran last month which also earned him a gold medal.

In 2019, Arshad became the first athlete in Pakistan’s history to qualify for the Olympics — with an 86.29 metre throw in the South Asian Games in Nepal.

Fayyaz said that it would be better if Arshad was sent to Tokyo 15 days ahead of the Olympics.

“I think it would help him settle down before going into the field to fight for the medal,” Fayyaz said. Arshad will feature in the javelin throw preliminaries on August 4. The finals will be held on August 7 as per schedule.

Fayyaz will accompany Arshad to Tokyo as a coach.

Pakistan’s Najma Parveen will feature in Olympics on wild card. She is undergoing training at Lahore under her coach Seemi Rizvi.