Arshad Nadeem fails to impress at World Athletics Championship

Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem on Thursday flopped in the World Athletics Championship being held in Tokyo, Japan.

At the iconic Tokyo National Stadium, Arshad, who had qualified for the finals on Wednesday, did not show the kind of performance which was expected from him.

He started the 12-man final with a throw of 82.73m. It was followed by a foul and 82.75m which helped him to earn a spot in the top ten. But he made another foul in his fourth attempt which caused his ouster from the event.

“He’s an extraordinary athlete but perhaps not a superman. Eight weeks was short time from surgery even by his standards,” Arshad’s surgeon Dr Ali Sher Bajwa told Nukta after he was eliminated.

“I don’t think any athletics star has ever returned to world stage so soon after surgery. I told you a couple of weeks ago that recovery and competition fitness are different things. Full marks for courage. Lots more training work to do, I think,” said Bajwa, who conducted his left calf surgery a couple of months ago in Cambridge.

After surgery Arshad underwent rehab and training in London before he returned to Lahore to undergo a few weeks training under his coach Salman Butt. Before leaving for Tokyo his coach said that he was fit and did not complain about any fitness issues.

However, Arshad was seen struggling in the qualification stage as well as in the final on Thursday which showed that he was not fully ready for this major event.

Arshad, who had won silver in the 2023 World Championship in Hungary, overall finished tenth in the competition.

In a stunning fashion the 2012 London Olympics champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago finished at the pole position by winning gold with a throw of 88.16m. Former two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who was seen in good form and had managed 89m plus throw in the qualification stage, finished with silver by managing a throw of 87.38m while Curtis Thompson of the United States secured bronze with a throw of 86.67m.

It was also not a good day for the reigning world champion Neeraj Chopra. Chopra, also a former Olympic champion, recorded throws of 83.65m, 84.03m, X, 82.86m and X to finish overall at the eighth spot.

India’s Sachin Yadav had a good day as the young man managed his personal best throw of 86.27m to finish fourth in the event held in hot and humid conditions.

Julian Weber of Germany, who recently made headlines by hitting 91m plus twice in the Diamond League final in Zurich, could manage only a throw of 86.11 to end at the fifth spot.