Arshad takes giant stride towards Olympic medal with 85.16 metre throw

KARACHI: Pakistan’s premier javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem on Wednesday took a giant step towards an Olympic medal when he blasted his way into the final of the javelin throw competitions of the Tokyo Olympics.

On the hottest day of the year in Tokyo which kept sapping the energy of the athletes, Arshad topped the qualification stage Group B competition, featuring 16 athletes, with a throw of 85.16 metre. This was his second throw of the three-round qualification stage which directly put him in the finals while meeting the minimum required qualifying standard of 83.50 metre.

Arshad had managed a 78.50 metre throw in his first attempt. Overall, Arshad stood third as in Group A, also featuring 16 athletes, India’s Neeraj Chopra qualified in his first attempt with a throw of 86.65 metre.

Germany’s Johannes Vetter, a former world champion, managed an 85.64 metre throw in his third attempt.

As many as six throwers met the qualifying standard of 83.50m. They were joined by the next best six in the August 7 finals as the top 12 had to progress as per regulations.

The final will be held at 4pm PST.

The ones who will compete in the August 7 finals are Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan), Neeraj Chopra (India), Andrian Mardane (Republic of Moldova), Kim Amb (Sweden), Novac Alexandru Mihaita (Romania), Veseley Vitezslav (Czech Republic), Julian Weber (Germany), Etelatalo Lassi (Finland), Johannes Vetter (Germany), Mialeshka Pavel (Belarus), Vadlejch Jakub (Czech Republic) and Aliaksei Katkavets (Belarus).

Arshad was very happy with his progression to the finals. “Thanks God, I made it. It was due to the prayers of the whole nation through which I qualified,” Arshad told ‘The News’ after his fine feat.

He is the first Pakistani athlete to have made it to the finals in the Olympics athletics meets.

“It was the hottest day, but I was focussed on my throw and God blessed me with success,” Arshad said. “The qualifying event was a game of pressure as you had to make it to the finals through just three throws. After my first throw I was confident to meet the qualifying standard in my second attempt. The coach motivated me by saying it should be my last throw and God helped me,” Arshad said.

“Now in the finals I will go all out. No doubt it will be a tough challenge as it was today, but I hope to give good news to the nation. I request the whole nation to pray for me. InshaAllah I will do my best on August 7,” he added.

“After the throws, I didn’t feel any issue and hopefully I will go out for the finals even better prepared,” said Arshad, a 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist.

His coach Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari said they delivered as per plans. “We have done as per plans and we are yet to do our best. I hope we will do our best in the finals,” Fayyaz told ‘The News’.

“This evening we are to attend gym and tomorrow in the morning we will do some weight training and in the evening work will be done on the coordination,” Fayyaz said.

“The finals will be of six rounds and there Arshad will play freely,” Fayyaz said.

Meanwhile, the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) president Major General (retd) Akram Sahi said that there was a thought process behind the performance of Arshad in the qualification stage. “I am happy that Arshad did so well today. He went as per plans and thought process and I hope he will also deliver in the finals,” Sahi told ‘The News’.

“We managed his training properly and I am very much hopeful that he will give his best on August 7 as well,” said Sahi, a former international athlete.

Medals Table

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

China 32 22 16 70

United States 25 31 23 79

Japan 21 7 12 40

Great Britain 15 18 15 48

Australia 15 4 17 36

Russian Olympic Committee 14 21 18 53

Germany 8 8 16 32

France 6 10 9 25

Italy 6 9 15 30

Netherlands 6 8 9 23

South Korea 6 4 9 19

New Zealand 6 4 5 15

Cuba 5 3 4 12

Hungary 4 5 3 12

Canada 4 4 7 15

Brazil 4 3 8 15

Czech Republic 4 3 1 8

Switzerland 3 4 5 12

Poland 3 3 4 10

Croatia 3 3 2 8

Sweden 2 5 0 7

Taiwan 2 4 5 11

Georgia 2 4 1 7

Denmark 2 2 3 7

Norway 2 2 1 5

Jamaica 2 1 2 5

Iran 2 1 1 4

Slovenia 2 1 1 4

Ecuador 2 1 0 3

Greece 2 0 1 3

Uzbekistan 2 0 1 3

Kosovo 2 0 0 2

Qatar 2 0 0 2

Spain 1 4 5 10

Romania 1 3 0 4

Venezuela 1 3 0 4

Ukraine 1 2 8 11

Kenya 1 2 2 5

Hong Kong 1 2 0 3

Slovakia 1 2 0 3

South Africa 1 2 0 3

Serbia 1 1 4 6

Austria 1 1 3 5

Indonesia 1 1 3 5

Belgium 1 1 1 3

Ethiopia 1 1 1 3

Uganda 1 1 1 3

Philippines 1 1 0 2

Tunisia 1 1 0 2

Turkey 1 0 5 6

Ireland 1 0 2 3

Israel 1 0 2 3

Belarus 1 0 1 2

Estonia 1 0 1 2

Fiji 1 0 1 2

Latvia 1 0 1 2

Bermuda 1 0 0 1

Morocco 1 0 0 1

Puerto Rico 1 0 0 1

Thailand 1 0 0 1

Armenia 0 2 1 3

Colombia 0 2 1 3

Dominican Republic 0 2 1 3

Kirghyzstan 0 2 1 3

India 0 1 2 3

Mongolia 0 1 2 3

Portugal 0 1 2 3

Bulgaria 0 1 1 2

Nigeria 0 1 1 2

San Marino 0 1 1 2

Jordan 0 1 0 1

Namibia 0 1 0 1

North Macedonia 0 1 0 1

Turkmenistan 0 1 0 1

Kazakhstan 0 0 4 4

Azerbaijan 0 0 3 3

Egypt 0 0 3 3

Mexico 0 0 3 3

Argentina 0 0 1 1

Finland 0 0 1 1

Ghana 0 0 1 1

Ivory Coast 0 0 1 1

Kuwait 0 0 1 1

Malaysia 0 0 1 1

Syria 0 0 1 1