GLASGOW: Pakistan’s star javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has taken another step towards defending his Commonwealth Games title, securing a place in the men’s final after producing a 78.63-metre throw in the qualification round in Glasgow.
Arshad finished seventh among the qualifiers, with the top 12 athletes advancing to the final. Although no competitor managed to achieve the automatic qualifying distance of 84 metres, the Pakistani athlete’s effort was enough to keep his medal hopes alive.
Sri Lanka’s Ramesh Tharanga topped the qualification standings with an 82.84-metre throw, followed by Grenada’s Anderson Peters at 81.29 metres and South Africa’s Douw Smit at 80.64 metres.
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England’s Ben East finished among the leading performers with a throw of 80.38 metres, while India’s Neeraj Chopra recorded 79.61 metres to secure fifth place. Australia’s MacEntyre placed sixth with 78.91 metres, just ahead of Arshad.
Pakistan’s Yasir Sultan was unable to qualify for the final after finishing 14th with a best throw of 74.36 metres.
Arshad Nadeem enters the final as the reigning Commonwealth Games champion after delivering a record-breaking performance at Birmingham 2022, where he claimed gold with a throw of 90.18 metres.
That historic effort set new national and Commonwealth Games records and made Arshad the first South Asian athlete to cross the 90-metre mark in men’s javelin throw.
With qualification secured, Arshad will now focus on the final as he aims to add another major achievement to his career and continue his impressive run on the international stage.
