Arshad seeks fans’ prayers ahead of Olympic javelin final

ISLAMABAD (Monitoring Desk): Pakistan’s star athlete Arshad Nadeem on Wednesday urged fans to pray for his success at the final round of the men’s javelin throw competition at the Paris Olympics 2024, as he gears up to win the first Olympic medal for the South Asian country in decades.

Nadeem qualified for the final round of the competition on Tuesday with an 86.59-meter throw in the qualifying round. Athletes had to throw the light spear at a minimum distance of 84 meters to make it to the final round scheduled to be held on Thursday. “I have qualified for the final of the Paris Olympics 2024 as a result of your prayers,” Nadeem said in a video message uploaded on his Instagram account.

“Please keep praying for me, the final is on August 8 at 11:25pm. So please keep praying for me so I perform well and win a medal for Pakistan.” Nadeem, a nine-time international medalist and four-time gold medalist who came fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is Pakistan’s best shot at a medal in the ongoing competition. The Pakistani star athlete won silver at the World Championships last year and gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 with a massive 90.18m distance throw.

The last time Pakistan won a medal at the Olympics was in 1992 in Barcelona when it secured bronze in field hockey. India’s Neeraj Chopra secured the top spot from Group B in the qualifying round, throwing the javelin a distance of 89.34 meters. He was followed by Grenadian athlete Anderson Peters, who scored a throw of 88.63 meters.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Julian Weber topped Group A with a throw of 87.76 meters, followed by Kenya’s Julius Yego from the same group who threw the javelin at a distance of 85.97 meters. Czech athlete Jakub Vadlejch recorded an impressive throw at 85.63 meters while Finland’s Toni Keranin threw the light spear at 85.27 meters.

Nadeem, who comes from humble beginnings from Khanewal city in Pakistan, is one of nine children of a daily wage laborer who showed great versatility as an athlete from a young age while dabbling in all kinds of sports at school.

Though the family lacked the financial means to encourage Nadeem’s enthusiasm for sports, his spirit earned him the support he needed, with his elder brothers working to help him build a career in sports, the family told private channel in an interview in 2021.