Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem seeks to repeat history at Commonwealth Games

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem is determined to repeat history at the Commonwealth Games starting later this month. The 29-year-old Arshad, who won the javelin throw gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a record throw of 90.18 metres, leaves for Switzerland on Monday to participate in an international contest prior to the July 23-Aug 2 Commonwealth Games being staged in Glasgow. Speaking after his final training session at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore on Sunday, Arshad said that he had prepared well for the Commonwealth Games. “I am going to feature in an event in Switzerland before a major competition like the Commonwealth Games. I participate in an event before any big contest, which gives me an idea about my strength and preparation [for the forthcoming major event],” the Mian Channu-born athlete, whose 92.97-metre throw at Paris 2024 remains an Olympic as well as Asian record, said. Recalling the memories of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the star athlete said, “Four years after I broke the Commonwealth Games record in 2022, I remain in the same position. There is also pressure [on me] that I have been the champion for four years and now I will need to again do well (to retain the title).”

Arshad, who became the first-ever Pakistan athlete to directly qualify for the Olympics in 2024, said the competition in Glasgow would be tough. “Recently, Sri Lankan javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga made an impressive throw of 86.57 metres at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet. So, I strongly feel that the competition in Glasgow will be tough this time [too] but I am prepared for it,” he said. “There is always pressure while entering the field, only then that pressure has to be controlled.”