Brig Zaheer Akhtar, Pakistani contingent’s chef de mission to Tokyo Olympics, has expressed his displeasure with javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem’s failure to win a medal.
Talking to the Pakistani media from Tokyo, Brig Zaheer said Arshad Nadeem was capable of touching the 90-meter mark. Had he and his coach stayed focused on achieving the ultimate goal prior to the finals, they would have won the medal, he said.
“Nonstop social media use by Arshad and his coach in between the qualifying and final rounds turned out to be the main reason for this failure,” said Brig Zaheer. He said Arshad looked set to topple even the best as he gave an early indication of his talent during the qualifying round.
“When he threw javelin to over 85 meters in the qualifying round, Indian coach who trained the gold medalist Chopra was on record to have said that Arshad was the biggest threat to his athlete, having all the potential to win even Gold. Such was the impact of his qualifying round performance where he hardly put his full effort and yet he reached over 85 meters. The Indian camp was wary of Arshad and his potential,” he said.
According to Brig Zaheer, both Arshad and his coach Fayyaz Bokhari were seen using social media uninterruptedly despite clear instructions they should not do this. Later, he said, it was learnt that they even sent videos back home halfway into the competition, which was an act of indiscipline.
The contingent’s chef-de-mission said he had no doubt about Arshad’s talent. He said that Arshad’s coach was talking over the phone when finals were in progress. He said that is the reason why Arshad did not know that time was running out for his final throw. His half-hearted last attempt was made in haste, he said. With J Vetter already out, it should have been a direct contest between Arshad and Chopra for a Gold medal, he said. Sadly, that could not happen more due to Arshad and his coach’s excessive use of social media in between the qualifying round and finals.
