Olympian javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem takes home gold at National Games

QUETTA: Pakistan's Olympian javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has won a gold medal after throwing his javelin the longest distance of 78.02m in the ongoing 34th National Games at Ayub Stadium today.

No other javelin thrower could cross his best distance, allowing Arshad — who is representing Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) — to take home the gold medal. However, Yasir Sultan registered the second-best distance of 77.50m to bag the silver medal, while Army's Amad managed to win the bronze medal after he threw the third best throw of 73.18m.

Speaking to Geo News after bagging gold, Arshad said he trained hard to get the first position.

"I came here to win nothing less than a gold medal. This medal has given me immense confidence after recovering from the injury. It was my first event after surgery," he added.

The athlete has sustained injuries multiple times in the past.

He had suffered a knee injury in an international event in Iran in early 2021 in which he managed his personal best throw of 86.38 at that time. He carried that injury and finished fifth both in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and World Championship in the US.

Last year, he achieved a new milestone by pulling off his best throw of 90.18m in Birmingham to win gold in the Commonwealth Games. He then also won gold in the Islamic Games in Turkey after a few days.

Arshad now aims to compete strongly in the upcoming World Championship, Asian Games and Paris Olympics 2024.

"I am going to Germany for training next month," he shared. "My all focus is on Paris Olympics 2024. Meanwhile, I will participate in World Championship and Asian Games. My focus is to win medals there too," he concluded.