Lahore: Pakistan’s javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem on Sunday becomes first ever Pakistani to win silver medal with 87.82 meter throw in World Athletics Championship in Budapest.
He achieved this historic milestone with a super throw of 87.82 meter and lift his silver medal in the men’s javelin throw final of the World Athletic Championship event in Budapest, Hungary. Meanwhile Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra of India secures gold medal with a throw of 88.17 meter and became one of the greatest athlete in the Indian sports history. Whereas, the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch snatched third place from Germany’s Julian Weber (85.79 meter) with a throw of 86.67 metre.
Nadeem who had returned into international circuit after an year of rehab from his injuries, showed remarkable feat in front of the jam-packed stadium. After finishing at top in their respective groups, both Arshad and Neeraj Chopra reached the qualification phase the other day, it was truly a battle between the two which ended until their last attempts. After making a foul in his first attempt, Chopra set the target with a splendid throw of 88.17meter in his second attempt.
Nadeem could not have a good start in the game with only 74.80 meter throw, however, he made a remarkable comeback on his second attempt with 82.81meter throw.
It was his third attempt with 87.82 meter throw which was the biggest and his season's best.
Arshad tried his best to cross Chopra’s throw, but in his fourth attempt Nadeem unexpectedly could only reach 87.12 meter. While Nadeem’s fifth attempt got foul and could not reach the 80-meter mark. The Pakistan-India battle for gold went to the final round where Arshad tried his best to cross Chopra’s target but could only reach 81.86 meter.
It is worth noted that Arshad Nadeem did not compete in any event before the World Championships this year as he was ruled out of the Asian Championships due to injury, yet he managed to achieve this remarkable feat. He also won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 with a 90m throw, which India's Neeraj Chopra has not achieved till now.
During the final stage of the Javelin Throw competition, Arshad Nadeem from Khanewal's Mian Chanu tehsil had a large number of people present at his home to celebrate his victory and distribute sweets. After the achievement, the athlete's parents said that Arshad Nadeem has made them and Pakistan proud.