Arshad Nadeem, the star javelin thrower, finished fourth in the Paris Diamond League.
After withdrawing from a race in Finland as a precaution due to a small calf muscle issue, he competed internationally for the first time on Sunday in the elite one-day track and field event.
Despite throwing an amazing 84.21 meters on his fifth try, he was unable to get on the podium; instead, Julian Weber of Germany (85.91 meters), Anderson Peters of Grenada (85.19 meters), and Jakub Vadlejch of Lithuania (85.04 meters) finished ahead of him.
Speaking from Paris to Dawn.com, Nadeem expressed his satisfaction with his first-season performance.
“I’m hoping to give it my all in the Olympics,” he remarked.
He made a much better 80.28-meter second throw after his meek 74.11-meter first throw. He went on to throw 82.71 meters and 82.17 meters before finishing with an 84.21-meter throw that just missed a medal.
The 27-year-old is returning from Paris with his coach on Monday. He will train in Lahore for about two weeks before returning to Paris on July 24 in time for the opening ceremony of the Olympics on July 26.
“Hopefully, these two weeks of training will help me make up for any shortcomings,” Nadeem declared.
A personal best throw of the current record of 90.18 meters is the aim going into the Olympics next month.
Nadeem’s performance pleased coach Salman Butt as well, particularly considering that the javelin standout bounced back from a knee surgery in February in just two months.
The good news is that he is now able to resume competing after a successful recuperation.
Butt told Dawn.com, “We [will] continue with training and working on some fine points.”
At the World Championships last year, Nadeem created history by capturing Pakistan’s first-ever medal (silver) at the prestigious competition, while Neeraj Chopra, the javelin ace from India, took home the gold. This will be their first meeting since then.
Chopra made it clear last week that he was not planning to participate in the Paris Diamond League.
This season, the reigning Olympic and World champion is already off to a great start.
With a huge 88.36-meter throw at the Doha Diamond League in May, he won a silver medal. After thrilling the home audience at the National Federation Cup with a more subdued victory in 82.27 meters, he went on to the Paavo Nurmi Games, his third meet of the season, where he won another gold in 85.97 meters.
