Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s first finalist in athletics events, almost got lost in cricket: The Tribune India

Karachi, August 4

Arshad Nadeem, who became the first Pakistani to reach the finals of the Olympic athletics competition, could easily have lost to cricket if his brother had not persuaded him to take up athletics.

The 24-year-old, who belongs to Mian Channu, a small town near Khanewal in Punjab province, was a talented cricketer, but he had to work in cotton and wheat fields, so he didn’t have enough time for the game.

-She was very athletic and strong, and she didn’t get enough time for cricket, even though she was a very good multi-talent. I advised him to take up athletics because it takes less time, ”his brother Afzal said.

Mian Channu is famous for its fertile cotton and wheat production areas and has produced some world-class cricket and hockey players, but Arshad decided to make his name in athletics.

On Wednesday, he reached the finals of the javelin throw competition, which will be held on August 7th.

Arshad threw a distance of 85.16 meters to reach the final, where he will be opposed by Neeraj Chopra of India, the 2018 champion of the Commonwealth who threw 86.65 meters with his first attempt and Johannes Vetter of Germany.

Nadeem is the first Pakistani athlete in history to reach the finals of the Olympic Athletics Event.

“Arshad is in very good shape at the moment and he feels very confident before the final,” his brother said.

Before leaving for Tokyo, Arshad had said in an interview that he never saw what other competitors were doing and focused only on what he was doing.

He has already tasted gold after standing on the podium at last year’s South Asian Games in Nepal, and he also won a bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games behind gold medalist Neeraj Chopra.

Despite a lack of training facilities, international exposure and diet problems, Arshad threw a spear at a distance of 86.39 meters (his personal stakes) earlier this year and set a national record during the Imam Reza Championships in Iran.

In 2019, he threw 86.29 meters at the South Asian Games in Nepal.

His coach, Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari, was the person who got him his first real break in 2015 when he got him to work for the Water and Electricity Board (Wapda), an authority famous for nurturing sports gifts for years. .

In 2015, Arshad performed at the World Championships and broke the national javelin throwing record to win gold. PTI