Pakistan’s Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem and fellow javelin thrower Muhammad Yasir have secured spots in the finals of the 26th Asian Athletics Championships, currently underway in South Korea.
Arshad, who made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a record-breaking 92.97m throw, qualified for the final with an impressive 86.34m on his first and only attempt in the A qualification round. Muhammad Yasir followed suit in the B qualification round with a solid 76.07m throw, earning him a place in the final as well.
Arshad currently leads the 21-athlete lineup heading into the final, followed by Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (83.71m) and Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama (81.36m). Yasir enters the final ranked ninth.
Taking to Instagram, Arshad expressed gratitude and shared his excitement:
“Alhamdulillah, qualified this morning for the final competition tomorrow afternoon [May 31] at 1:10 PM PKT at the Asian Championships. As always, I would need your support and prayers.”
This year’s championships have attracted over 2,000 athletes from 43 nations. While Arshad and Yasir have made it to the spotlight, other Pakistani athletes had a mixed performance. Tameem Khan, the nation’s fastest female sprinter, finished 17th in the women’s 100m heats with a time of 12.14 seconds. Top male sprinter Shajar Abbas clocked 47.17 in the 400m heats and 47.38 in the semis, securing 12th place overall. Abdul Mueed ran 50.10 in his heat, finishing 27th.
Following the Asian Championships, Arshad is expected to travel to England to begin training for the World Athletics Championships scheduled for September.
