Arshad Nadeem


Arshad Nadeem is a Pakistani athlete specialising in the javelin throw. He represents WAPDA in domestic competition. In Dec 2019, he established a new South Asian Games record in Javelin throw with a distance of 86.29 m, thus securing direct qualification to 2020 Summer Olympics.

Early Life

Arshad Nadeem belongs to Mian Channu, a small city in Khanewal District, Punjab. He is the 3rd oldest among five brothers. 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. 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.
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.

Career

In May 2017, Nadeem won a bronze medal with a best throw of 76.33 metres at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku.
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.
As the only Pakistani athlete at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Nadeem achieved a new personal best and national record of 81.52m. 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. In December 2019, he won a gold medal with an 86.29 metre games record throw at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal.

International competitions