Arshad Nadeem earned Pakistan their first-ever track and field Gold medal in 60 years in the Commonwealth Games 2022.
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Post-midnight on Sunday, Arshad Nadeem earned Pakistan their first-ever track and field Gold medal in 60 years. With a mammoth throw of 90.18 m in the javelin final, Nadeem has established himself as a powerful name in World Athletics. On his quest for gold, the Pakistani star got past World champion Anderson Peters of Grenada in the finals. Anderson who recorded a 90.54m throw in World Championships couldn’t register a single 90m+ throw and produced the best effort of 88.64m. Tokyo Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra had bowed out of the competition due to a groin injury. With Arshad now setting a PB of 90+ better than Neeraj, the battle between the two is all set to intensify in upcoming championships.
The gold medal triumph at the Commonwealth Games 2022 is the best achievement of Nadeem’s javelin career till now. Earlier, Arshad had clinched a gold in the South Asian and one bronze in the Asian games. However, a gold and 90+ throw at the Commonwealth games will certainly bolster his confidence ahead of Asian Games and Paris Olympics 2024. Arshad’s victory garnered a lot of responses across various social networking platforms.
Hailing from Mian Channu of Pakistan, Arshad has been a versatile athlete since his childhood. In the school athletics event, Nadeem’s javelin throw credentials were spotted. He then trained under coach Rasheed Ahmad Saqi on how to throw the spear to a long distance. When Nadeem attended the sports trials for Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority, he wanted a government job to assist his family. However, former national champion and Asian medallist Syed Hussian Bukhari recognized his potential after seeing him in the trials. Since then, his sheer hard work and perseverance helped him to achieve what he is today.
After his win at the CWG 2022, his coach Syed Hussain wishes that Arshad’s win will create a similar effect as Neeraj Chopra’s win did in India. He hopes that more Pakistani athletes should be involved in Athletics. Arshad’s family also stayed awake till late at night to watch him in action. Little did they know that he would produce such brilliance and create history for Pakistan in Athletics.
