TOKYO (Kashmir English): Pakistan’s javelin ace Arshad Nadeem on Wednesday qualified for the javelin throw final with a throw of 85.28m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
Nadeem qualified for the final clash in his third and final attempt after an unimpressive throw of 74.17m in the first and 76.99m in the second attempt.
The medal round will be held on Thursday, with his arch-rival, Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra, and ten other best in the world competing for the podium position.
From Arshad’s Group B, Anderson Peters (85.96m), Julius Yego (89.53m), and Curtis Thompson (84.72m) also booked their spot.
Meanwhile, India’s Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, with the throw of 84.85m, qualified from Group A. Germany’s Julian Weber (87.21m) and Poland’s Dawid Wegner (85.67m) also qualified from the final round.
Moreover, India’s Sachin Yadav finished sixth in Group A with 83.67m throw and managed to squeeze into the final after finishing 10th overall. Keshorn Walcott and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch also made it through via rankings.
In total, 12 athletes out of 37 advanced to the final, who surpassed the automatic qualifying mark of 84.50m moved through directly, while the remaining slots were filled by the best performances.
At the last World Championships in Budapest in 2023, Neeraj Chopra made history by becoming India’s first world champion in athletics with a throw of 88.17m, while Arshad Nadeem claimed silver with 87.82m.
The tables turned at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where Nadeem triumphed with gold, leaving Chopra to settle for silver.
