India's Neeraj Chopra topped the men's javelin throw qualification stage on Wednesday with a throw of 86.65m while Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem wasn't far behind with an 85.16m throw to finish third.

Who is Arshad Nadeem?

After the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, where Chopra won gold in javelin throw, a photograph featuring him and Nadeem, the bronze medallist in the javelin, went viral.

The 24-year-old from Khanewal, Pakistan, took up javelin in 2015 on his brother's advice after playing age-group cricket at the state level.

2018 Asian Games, Jakarta - India's Neeraj Chopra, Pakistan Arshad Nadeem   -  AFP

He trained for eight months at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) High-Performance Training Centre in Mauritius on a scholarship in 2016.

Coached by Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari, Nadeem finished eighth in the javelin final at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast despite a back injury.

Later in the same year, he clinched the bronze medal at the Asian Games with an 80.75m throw. Chopra won that event with an 88.06m throw.

Nadeem has a personal best of 86.38m which he had achieved in April in the Imam Raza Athletics Cup in Iran.

He admitted that choosing javelin over cricket changed his life, but he has also faced hardships. "Not becoming a cricketer was the best thing that happened to me. I wouldn't be in the Olympics otherwise. I know I have a natural talent for athletics, and I'm grateful, but being a non-cricket athlete in Pakistan has challenges, like not getting the required resources and facilities," he told The Express Tribune in January 2020.

According to the Olympics website, Nadeem lists Chopra as his hero and will now be competing against him in the final on August 7.