Arshad Nadeem hopes to break 100-metre barrier at Asian Championship

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistan’s javelin ace Arshad Nadeem said on Wednesday that he has targeted a 100m throw at the Asian Athletics Championship, scheduled to be held in Korea from May 27 to 31. The Olympic gold-medalist, who is training rigorously at the Punjab Stadium, vowed to give his best in the upcoming tournament, for which he is set to depart on Thursday (today). “I will leave tomorrow for the Asian Athletics Championships. I will try to perform well at the event,” said Nadeem. “I am targeting a 100-meter throw, and I’m working hard, and by the will of Almighty Allah, I will achieve it one day,” he added.

Nadeem also shared his post-Asian Athletics Championship plans, stating that he will depart for England after Eid-ul-Adha to prepare for the World Athletics Championship, alongside coach Salman Butt. Nadeem was then probed about Indian counterpart Neeraj Chopra’s recent remarks, in which the latter claimed that he does not share a close bond with the Olympic gold-medalist despite showing camaraderie in the past. “First, I would like to clarify that I don’t have a very strong relationship with Arshad. We were never really close friends or anything. But because of this [recent conflict], it will not be like before,” Chopra had said. “I never had a very deep friendship with him, but we were always respectful toward each other,” he added.

“Yes, as athletes, we have to talk. I have good friends from the athletics community all over the world — not just in javelin, but in other events too,” he explained. In response, Nadeem denied commenting on Chopra’s remarks, citing the currently tense diplomatic relationship between Pakistan and India. “I don’t want to talk about it because of the situation between Pakistan and India. I always stand with the Pakistan Army,” Nadeem said. The 28-year-old, however, congratulated Chopra for breaching the 90-metre barrier for the first time in his glittering career when he clinched silver at the Diamond League in Doha last week.