Photo: REUTERS
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem[1] was looking to create another history for Pakistan with a gold medal at the final of the World Athletics Championship javelin throw event, but he was eliminated after the fourth round of throws at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo.
The final of the event features 12 throwers who qualified out of 37, featured in two groups on September 17.
This is also the first time that the javelin throw event of the championship features athletes from 11 different countries, and it is beautiful to see the South Asians making an indelible mark at the event, be it Arshad, Neeraj, or Sachin Yadav.
The diversity of the roster speaks volumes about the cultural change and what it means for people of colour in a traditionally white sport.
The India-Pakistan domination on the sport came to an end, while both Neeraj Chopra and Arshad won gold and silver medals, respectively, in the the last edition, they struggled to meet the mark each of them set in the 2025 men’s Word Championships javelin throw qualification round even.
Trinidad And Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott became the world champion with an unforgiving throw of 88.16m that came in the fourth round, while Grenada’s Anderson peters took the silver medal with a mark of 87.38m in the second round of throws.
The Paris Olympics bronze medallist led the pack early on, but Walcott, caught him in the fourth round.
America’s Curtis Thompson was the surprise of the event, he was impressive with a first-round throw of 86.67m, this was enough for him to get the bronze medal.
On the other hand, Yadav was exciting to watch in his world championships debut, even though he missed out on the bronze medal in the shadow of Thompson with a throw of 86.27m. Yadav could have become the second Indian to win a world championship medal, after Neeraj’s global success.
Meanwhile, things went haywire for the Olympic champion Arshad. He barely qualified for the final too, and looked unhappy with himself throughout the final, trudging through the heavy competition put up by Thompson, Anderson, and Walcott early on.
Similarly, Neeraj finished eighth with his best throw in the final which was 84.03.
The 12 athletes began with three rounds of throws, and after that only 10 continued on and then eight and then six.
Arshad managed to survive the first round of elimination. He threw his javelin 82.73m away in the first attempt, then his second attempt was flagged, and then the third attempt was 82.75m, which is far from his best of 92.97m.
He bowed out on a flagged attempt in the fourth round.
His season best came at the Asian Championships 86.40m in Gumi, South Korea in May.
This also marks one of the weakest comebacks for Arshad in his personal history.
He barely got any compeition, he missed out on two Diamond League meets that he was intending to attend, but faild due to a calf-injury.
The World Championship was the second greatest platform for Arshad to conquer after the Olmpyics. He was looking to have a repeat of what his former friend, Neeraj did by winning the 2020 Summer Games and the consequent 2023 Wold Championships.
Arshad had always been inury-prone, and in the past he has competed through the pain, and surgeries. However, this time he had not been able to beat the conditions.
Rusty start in Tokyo
Despite a rusty start, Arshad managed to seal the spot in the final on his third attempt of 85.28m, making it the fourth-best throw in the qualification round.
The 28-year-old was looking for a repeat on the podium, as he became the first Pakistani to ever bag a medal at the World Athletics Championships[2] in 2023.
Although, he had finished with a silver medal at the time with a throw of 87.82m, his achievement spelt so much more because it was the event he waited for and competed at with a lot of pain in his elbow and knee, suffering long-standing injuries, but he had chosen not to get his surgeries done as he was afraid of how that would affect his performance.
It was the same throw that qualified him for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In that last edition, Neeraj won the gold with a throw of 88.17m, and the experienced Jakub Vadlejch finished with a bronze in Budapest.
Arshad had told The Express Tribune, back in 2023, that to chase his dream of creating a world record, he was willing to endure the pain.
However, after two years, he is in a better position, albeit coming in the event at the back of another surgery and rehabilitation from a calf injury, this time.
The father of three is also the giant to beat for others after his Paris Olympics record-breaking gold medal win with a throw of 92.97m
It seems to be a pattern with the injury-prone athlete, but his grit and determination seem to overcome the pain.
“If anyone can create a world record, it is Arshad,” Arshad’s former coach and the man who helped him become the first Pakistani to ever qualify for the Olympics and then participate at the Tokyo Games, Fiaz Bokahri, told The Express Tribune before the final.
Bokhari is acutely aware of Arshad’s position and the conditions his former pupil must be facing, as he was there in the Tokyo Games 2021, where they finished fifth.
Arshad has been longing for a long time to break the world record created by Jan Železný, 98.48m, in 1996, and the world championship record by him, which is closer to Arshad’s personal best and Olympic record he created in Paris, 92.80 m
“If you see, India’s Sachin Yadav is taller than Arshad, but Arshad still has this ability to throw better. He has the motivation and the mindset to break the record; he has that throw in him.”
Bokhari added that javelin throwing is more or less a solitary activity even in the midst of a major world championship, because an athlete is ultimately just fighting against his own body and mind to get the best out of the given conditions.
“If Arshad only concentrates on improving his Olympic record, he will create that world record too. He is up against himself,” said Bokhair.
It was rather touching, as Arshad has often said this since he emerged as a star athlete in 2018, when he also made history for Pakistan by winning the bronze medal at the Asian Games.
Arshad’s journey from making records for Pakistan to now making world records and on the verge of becoming the man with the Olympic gold and the World Championships gold, Bokhair feels the athlete from Mian Chunnu, Khanewal, needs to get his best throw early on, out of the initial three he would get in the final.
He also added that Arshad’s run-up in the qualification round was a little shaky in the first two attempts, 76.99m and 74.17m.
“We saw in the qualification, and of course, Thursday is a new day, everyone will be coming in with a different goal.
In qualification, Arshad looked like his aggressive game wasn’t there, and he dragged it to the third throw. He was looking like he was struggling to adjust his speeds, but pushing to the third attempt is always risky.
“On the day of the final, I think he would be able to use that rough experience in the qualification to his advantage. He will be coming in with a lot of emotion and drive.
“As for the qualification, like Neeraj and Julius Yego, the top competitors aim for meeting the qualification standard, which was 84.50m, and then let go of other attempts, because there is no point in trying to improve there; they are not fighting for the medal.
At the end of the day, it would be about how Arshad’s body responds.”
Arshad was meant to be facing the tough competition from Neeraj, bringing in the India-Pakistan sizzle to the athletics championship with a bit more fire after the two countries engaged in a brief aerial war in May.
Anderson Peters, who threw the massive 89.53m in the qualification round, Germany’s Julien Weber, and other top contenders besides Neeraj and Kenya’s Yego.
How the men’s final elimination work?
The top 12 athletes will begin with three rounds of attempts, and after those, the top 10 will remain to continue the competition.
There is a process of elimination in the final.
All eight athletes will get one more chance, this was the fifth round after that the two worst will not continue, and top six will be allowed to throw their sixth and final attmept.
References
- ^ Arshad Nadeem (tribune.com.pk)
- ^ World Athletics Championships (tribune.com.pk)