Speaking to Dawn.com from Paris, javelin superstar Arshad Nadeem had a message for the nation on Wednesday morning: “Thank you for your prayers, and please continue praying for my success in the final.”
A day earlier, the 27-year-old cruised into Thursday night’s final with a solid 86.59m throw at the Stade de France, his first and only attempt of the qualifier round, which was also his season’s best.
“Assalamo alaikum, Allah has blessed me with a lot of honour, thanks to your prayers,” he said in a video message sent to Dawn.com.
“I have qualified for the [javelin] finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics; this is the result of your prayers,” he said.
“I’m ecstatic that with the help of your prayers, I qualified for the final in my first throw only,” Nadeem said, now Pakistan’s sole medal-winning chance as the last athlete to compete in Paris. “Please continue praying for me.”
The final will be on Thursday, August 8 at 11:25pm PST.
“Please continue praying for me so I can perform my best and win a medal for Pakistan.”
Olympic javelin qualifier
Like Nadeem, several of his rivals made it to the final with a lone attempt.
Reigning Olympic and world champion India’s Neeraj Chopra led the field with a massive 89.34m throw, also a season best.
Sandwiched between the two South Asians were Grenada’s Anderson Peters in third place (88.63m), and reigning European Champion Julian Weber in fourth with a 87.76m.
Kenya’s Rio 2016 silver medalist sealed a fifth place ranking in the final after an 85.97m throw in his third attempt, which was also a season best.
Brazil’s Luiz Maurício da Silva was having a field day as he threw a personal best and broke the South American record with an 85.91m throw to land in sixth place.
Czech powerhouse Jakub Vadlejch ranks seventh in the field with an 85.63m lone throw, which stands a fair bit off from his season best 88.65m.
Finland’s Toni Keranen got off to a flying start at his Olympic debut as his 85.27m throw doubled as a personal and season best to rank him eighth.
Yet another season best was achieved as Andrian Mardare of the Republic of Moldova threw an 84.13m to place him ninth heading into the final.
