Olympics: Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem qualifies for men’s javelin final

Pakistani athlete Arshad Nadeem has qualified for the men’s Javelin final at the Tokyo Olympics.

He finished at the top of his qualifying group with a throw of 85.16 metres

The 24-year-old athlete was Pakistan’s first-ever track and field athlete to directly qualify for the Olympic Games when he made a throw of 86.29m in the South Asian Games at Katmandu.

Arshad, who is considered to be one of the finest javelin throwers in South Asia, is placed alongside world number three Chao-Tsun Cheng and world number five Anderson Peters.

Arshad’s current world ranking is 23. However, his seasonal best, which is also his personal best – a throw of 86.38 – is one of the best ten throws of the season. His medal-winning throw in Iran in April this year puts him at 7th among the top best throwers of the season.

A total of 32 contestants are divided into two groups of 16 each. According to qualification criteria, athletes with a throw of minimum 83.50m or at least 12 best performers advance to the final.