Pakistan's Olympian javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem wins gold medal at National Games

QUETTA – Pakistan's Olympian javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem on Saturday won a gold medal in the 34th National Games, which are currently under way at Ayub Stadium in the Balochistan capital.

Arshad won the honour by throwing his javelin the longest distance of 78.02 metres. Arshad, who represented the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) at the National Games, took home the gold medal.

Yasir Sultan registered the second-best distance of 77.50m to bag the silver medal and army's Amad managed to win the bronze medal after he threw the third best throw of 73.18m.

Talking to the media after the event, Arshad said he trained hard to win 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.

Arshad has sustained injuries multiple times in the past. He suffered a knee injury in an international event in Iran in early 2021. Despite this, he managed his personal best throw of 86.38m in the event. He carried that injury and finished fifth both in the 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 won gold in the Islamic Games in Turkey after a few days.

Arshad now aims to compete 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.