KARACHI: Pakistan’s premier javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem bagged fourth position in the contest at the Paris Diamond League upon his return to the field after a year. 

Although he did not win a medal, he regained his form and rhythm before the Paris Olympics.

In his first attempt, Arshad threw 74.11 meters and gradually improved his throws. On his second attempt, he threw 80.28 meters, and on his third attempt, he achieved a throw of 82.71 meters, placing him in the top three.

In his fourth attempt, he threw 82.17 meters, but Jacob Vadlejch surpassed him with an 85-meter throw in the same round. In the fifth round, Arshad needed a significant throw to make it to the top three, but his throw of 84.21 meters was not enough, leaving him in fourth position.

This was Arshad’s first major event since August 2023. Having recently made a comeback after surgery, he is a key hope for Pakistan to win a medal at the Paris Olympics this month.

Remember, after claiming the silver medal in the World Championship in Hungary last year, Arshad had to miss a few events also including the Hangzhou Asian Games due to a knee injury. He struggled all the way to achieving fitness and eventually underwent surgery in England which helped him recover.

After featuring in the Diamond League, Arshad will return home on July 8 and will undergo a few days of training at Lahore before flying back to Paris on July 24 to take part in the Olympics. Arshad will get around 12 days to acclimatise before his August 6 meet in the Olympics. Arshad’s personal best throw is 90.18m which he managed at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. He finished fifth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.