Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has qualified for the World Athletics Championship (WAC) final in the United States. The 25-year-old athlete from Mian Channu has become the first Pakistani to reach the WAC final. The story of this small town boy with big dreams has inspired many. Nadeem raised Pakistan’s status in the global arena by winning 4 Bronze medals and 1 Gold medal at men’s athletic sports events.
Arshad Nadeem with An Impressive Throw
Arshad Nadeem earned his spot by finishing 9th in group B qualifying rounds. His first two throws could only cover a distance of 76.15m and 74.38, respectively. Then his season-best throw at 81.71m in the third attempt brought him among 12 finalists. Pakistanis are hopeful to see Nadeem on a podium after his performance in qualifying rounds.
Olympics Hero
Arshad Nadeem has been competing in javelin throw games since 2015. He came into the limelight last year when he qualified for the final in Tokyo Olympics. He did not win the tournament but went on to be remembered as the first Pakistani ever to reach a final in any track and field sport.
His 4 Bronze medals came from 2016 Ho Chi Minh City Asian Junior Athletics Championship, 2016 Guwahati and Shillong South Asian Games, 2017 Baku Islamic Soldarity Games, and 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. Nadeem won his first and only gold medal in 2019 at 13th South Asian Games in Kathmadu, Nepal after throwing at a distance of 86.29m.
Competitors
The winner will be decided among Arshad Nadeem and 11 other javelin throwers from around the world. The finalists also include Neeraj Chopra from India, who also joined Nadeem in the finals of Tokyo Olympics last year. Chopra went on to make history for his country by winning the gold medal while Pakistani javelin thrower finished at the 5th place.
Besdes Nadeem and Chopra, the atheles who made it to the WAC finals are India’s Rohit Yadav, US’s Curtis Thompson, Finland’s Oliver Helander and Lassi Etelatalo, Germany’s Julian Webber and Anderson Peters, Czech Republic’s Jakub Vedlejch, Maldives’ Andrian Maldare, Egypt’s Ehab Abdelrehman, and Japan’s Roderick Genki Dean.
