Arshad Nadeem

Arshad Nadeem

Nadeem at the 2016 South Asian Games
Personal information
Born	(1997-01-02) 2 January 1997 (age 24) Khanewal, Punjab, Pakistan[1]
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	95 kg (209 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Javelin throw
Coached by	Fiaz Bokhari
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	NR 86.38 m (2021)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Pakistan Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games – – – World Championships – – – Asian Games – – 1 Commonwealth Games – – – South Asian Games 1 – 1 Islamic Solidarity Games – – 1 Asian Junior Championships – – 1 Total 1 0 4 Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Javelin throw Asian Junior Athletics Championships 2016 Ho Chi Minh City Javelin throw Islamic Solidarity Games 2017 Baku Javelin throw South Asian Games 2016 Guwahati and Shillong Javelin throw 2019 Kathmandu Javelin throw
Updated on 7 August 2021.

Arshad Nadeem (Punjabi and Urdu: ارشد ندیم‎; born January 2, 1997) is a Pakistani athlete specialising in the javelin throw.^[2] He represents WAPDA in domestic competition. In Dec 2019, he established a new South Asian Games record in Javelin throw with a distance of 86.29m, thus securing direct qualification to 2020 Summer Olympics,^[3] making him the country's only track-and-field athlete to qualify directly for the Olympics and first Pakistani individual overall to qualify for the final of any track-and-field event at the Olympic Games.^[3]

Early life[]

Arshad Nadeem belongs to Mian Channu, a small city in Khanewal District, Punjab and hails from an agriculturist family. He is the third oldest among five brothers in a Punjabi family. His father is a building contractor.^[4] Arshad was an exceptionally versatile athlete from his early school years. Though he dabbled in all the sports on offer in his school — cricket, badminton, football and athletics — his passion was cricket and he soon found himself playing it at district-level tape-ball tournaments.^[5] Upon entering grade seven in school, Arshad caught the eye of Rasheed Ahmad Saqi during an athletics competition. Saqi had a history of developing sportspeople in the division.^{[citation needed]}

Before settling on Javelin throw, Arshad also pursued shot-put and discus throw. Gold medals in Javelin throw in successive Punjab Youth Festivals and an inter-board meet propelled him on to the national stage, bringing offers from all the leading domestic athletics teams, including Army, Air Force and WAPDA.^{[citation needed]} It was his father Muhammad Ashraf who persuaded him to take up the sport of javelin throw.^[6]

Career[]

He started competing in javelin throw events from 2015. In 2016, he received a scholarship from World Athletics which made him eligible to train at the IAAF High Performance Training Centre in Mauritius.^[5]

In May 2017, Nadeem won a bronze medal with a best throw of 76.33 metres at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku.^[7] In April 2018, he set a new personal best of 80.45 metres in the qualification round of the javelin throw event at the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia. In August 2018, he won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he set a new personal best and national record of 80.75m.^[8] He also sustained a back injury following the end of 2018 Commonwealth Games.^[5]

As the only Pakistani athlete at the 2019 World Athletics Championships^[9] in Doha, Qatar, Nadeem achieved a new personal best and national record of 81.52m.^[10] In November 2019, Nadeem set a national record when he recorded an 83.65 metre throw to win gold for WAPDA at the 33rd National Games in Peshawar.^[11] In December 2019, he won a gold medal with an 86.29 metre games record throw at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal.^[12]

He made his debut appearance at the Olympics representing Pakistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics and became the first Pakistani track and field athlete to receive direct qualification for the Olympics.^[13][14] His father stated that Arshad was not provided even a good training ground facility prior to competing at the Olympics.^[15] Arshad underwent training in his own house's courtyards and streets and believed to have not received any financial assistance from Government of Pakistan after being qualified to participate at the Tokyo Olympics.^[6]

On 4 August 2021, he qualified for the men's javelin throw event final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.^[16][17] He became the first ever Pakistani to qualify for the final of any track and field events in the history of Olympics.^[18][19] He finished fifth in the men's javelin throw event with a throw of 84.62.^[20][21]

Personal life[]

Nadeem is currently^[when?] married with a son.^{[citation needed]}

International competitions[]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Pakistan
2016	South Asian Games	Guwahati, India		Javelin throw	78.33 m
	Asian Junior Athletics Championships	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam		Javelin throw	73.40 m
	World U20 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	30th (q)	Javelin throw	67.17 m
2017	Islamic Solidarity Games	Baku, Azerbaijan		Javelin throw	76.33 m
	Asian Championships	Bhubaneswar, India	7th	Javelin throw	78.00 m
2018	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Australia	8th	Javelin throw	76.02 m
	Asian Games	Jakarta, Indonesia		Javelin throw	80.75 m
2019	Asian Championships	Doha, Qatar	6th	Javelin throw	78.55 m
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	16th (q)	Javelin throw	81.52 m NR
	South Asian Games	Kathmandu, Nepal		Javelin throw	86.29 m GR
2021	Imam Reza Cup	Mashhad, Iran		Javelin throw	86.38 m
	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	5th	Javelin throw	84.62 m

NR−National Record

GR−Games Record

q−Qualification round

Seasonal bests by year[]

Awards and recognition[]

• Rewards -

For securing 5th Position in the final medal round at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics:-

• ₨75 lakh (US$47,000) from the Pakistan Sports Board.
• ₨50 lakh (US$31,000) from the Punjab Sports Board.
• ₨25 lakh (US$16,000) from the Water & Power Development Authority of Pakistan.^[22]
• ₨20 lakh (US$12,000) from the Chief Minister of Punjab.
• ₨10 lakh (US$6,200) from the President of Pakistan.
• ₨10 lakh (US$6,200) from the Olympic Association Punjab.^[23]
• ₨10 lakh (US$6,200) from the Government of Punjab Energy Department.
• ₨10 lakh (US$6,200) from the Lahore District Government.
• ₨10 lakh (US$6,200) from Waqar Zaka Pakistani Crypto Entrepreneur
• ₨5 lakh (US$3,100) from Howdy Islamabad.
• ₨3 lakh (US$1,900) from the Cheezious Company Pakistan.

References[]