Pakistan’s Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championship held in South Korea's Gumi on Saturday. The 28-year-old threw the javelin 86.40m to claim the gold, while India’s Sachin Yadav secured the silver with a throw of 85.16m.
Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama took the bronze with a throw of 83.75m. India’s Yashvir Singh also impressed, achieving a personal best of 82.57m to finish fifth. Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage finished seventh with a throw of 83.27m.
Both the Indian stars delivered personal-best efforts in two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra’s absence. Sachin achieved the medal-winning 85.16m throw in his final attempt. The 25-year-old, who comes from a farmer’s family in Khekra village near Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, had a previous best of 84.39m.
Meanwhile, Arshad Nadeem was competing for the first time since the Paris Games. It was also the first time in 50 years that a Pakistani athlete won gold at the Asian Athletics Championship.
