Arshad to start training in Tokyo today

KARACHI: Pakistan’s star javelin thrower and the Tokyo Olympics medal hope Arshad Nadeem will start his proper training in Tokyo on Sunday (today).

“I have taken some rest since we arrived here last night. In the evening today I will do a light warm up here at the Olympic Village and from tomorrow I will start training at proper training venue,” Arshad told ‘The News’ from Tokyo on Saturday.

“I am in good health and am determined to do my best,” said Arshad, who will compete in the qualifying round of javelin throw on August 4. The final will be on August 7.

Arshad created history when he recorded an 86.29 metre throw during the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal in December 2019 and qualified directly for the Olympics.

Arshad was then immediately sent to China for training but the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan cut short his trip and he returned home and was put in the camp at Lahore.

However, the camp at the Punjab capital was also closed due to a countrywide lockdown in March 2020. And the next few months until the end of last year were wasted. However, Arshad was put in the camp near the end of 2020 at Lahore. He was then sent to Iran for an international event in Mashhad in early April this year where he bettered his throw by managing an 86.38 metre effort which was also the record of that event.

And immediately after that he was sent to Turkey to undergo a couple of weeks training under the World Athletics coach Viktor of Kazakhstan. After resting at home on return for around 20 days, Arshad went to the camp at Lahore where he underwent vigorous training under his coach Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari until his departure for Tokyo.

The other athlete competing in the Tokyo Games is Najma Parveen who will compete in 200m competition on August 2. This is the second time that Najma will be featuring in the Olympics. She was also part of Pakistan’s contingent in the 2016 Rio Games. She is featuring in the world’s most prestigious event on wild card.