Tokyo Olympics: Arshad Nadeem finishes fifth in javelin throw event

Arshad Nadeem’s journey at the Tokyo Olympics came to an end on Saturday where he failed to win a medal for Pakistan.

While competing in the javelin event, India’s Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal after making a throw of 87.58.

Nadeem finished fifth on the list with the best throw of 84.62.

He was the country’s last hope to end a medal drought at the mega-event as Pakistan remained medal-less since 1992.

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In the first attempt, the 24-year-old finished on the sixth spot after making a throw of 82.40.

The second attempt did not go as per plan where his attempt was declared null and void after his foot crossed the line.

However, he made an impressive comeback in the third attempt after making a throw of 84.62 metres.

In the fourth and fifth rounds, Nadeem had a disappointing outing where he managed a throw of 82.91 and 81.98.

The sixth attempt was once again declared null and void where Nadeem attempted to get the better of the opponents.

Earlier, the Khanewal- born won his group on Wednesday after finishing the round with a throw of 85.16 metres which was the third-best in the event behind India’s Neeraj Chopra (86.65m) and Germany’s Johannes Vetter (85.64m).

Previously, he has won a bronze medal for Pakistan in the 2018 Asian Games which were organised in Indonesia with a throw of 80.75 metres.

Personal history:

The 24-year-old, who was born in Khanewal, is the son of a mason.

“I am not even worthy of this, I am just a labourer,” his father said while speaking to SAMAA TV.

Many people came to visit the family at their house after their son’s feat. Their neighbours played the drums and other villagers danced to its tunes in celebration.

The father shared that Nadeem had a passion for working out. “He used to borrow colourful buckets from other people, then added pipes in them along with other heavy equipment and then lift them up.”

Rasheed Ahmed Saki, who is one of Nadeem’s trainers, said that he knew from the start that the athlete was special.

In 2014, the world got to know about his talent. He even defeated a senior athlete from India while he was just a junior, Saki added.