‘Arshad will do his best in finals’

KARACHI: Former international athlete Mohammad Talib has appreciated the way the country’s premier javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem performed in the qualification stage and made it to the Tokyo Olympics finals on Wednesday.

“I think Arshad did well today and played his cards shrewdly,” Talib told ‘The News’ in an interview. “He is highly talented and I am hopeful he will do his best in the finals also. My prayers are with him,” Talib said.

“In the qualification stage, statistics are often deceptive as the world’s leading players don’t show their real strength. Yes, some big names also struggled in the qualification stage of the javelin throw today, but it happens in such events. That Arshad finished third overall and first in his group is highly praiseworthy,” Talib said.

He said that Arshad and weightlifter Talha Talib had emerged as great future hopes. “The way both did in Tokyo is amazing,” Talib said. “It shows that there is no dearth of talent here but we need to polish this talent properly. We need such people in the sports governing bodies who could work selflessly on the athletes’ development. The sports governing bodies should not indulge in politics which has destroyed the country’s sports,” he said.

“Some small and tiny states are getting medals in the Olympics and we with a massive human resource are unable to compete at the biggest stage.