Defending champion Arshad Nadeem was unable to hold onto his men’s javelin crown, placing ninth in the final held at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow on Friday night. The result brought an unexpected end to his title defence after winning gold at the 2022 edition with a stunning throw of 90.18 metres.
Nadeem’s campaign got off to a rocky start when his opening attempt was ruled a foul. He then registered a throw of 77.41 metres in his second round, briefly placing on the leaderboard, though he had already dropped to ninth position by the time the round concluded.
Nadeem’s Three Attempts in the Javelin Final
- First attempt: Foul
- Second attempt: 77.41 metres
- Third attempt: 75.39 metres
Needing a stronger showing in his final round to remain competitive, the 29-year-old Pakistani athlete could only manage 75.39 metres, leaving him stuck in ninth place and out of medal contention.
Tharanga Takes Gold as Chopra Settles for Silver
Sri Lanka’s Ramesh Tharanga emerged as the frontrunner after four rounds, posting a best effort of 89.75 metres. India’s Neeraj Chopra, who had led the standings following the first two rounds, was eventually overtaken and finished with silver on a throw of 85.83 metres.
Nadeem had advanced to the final by finishing seventh in qualification with a best throw of 78.63 metres. Notably, no competitor reached the automatic qualifying mark of 84 metres, meaning the top 12 throwers based on their best attempts moved on to the final round.
Qualification Round Results
Tharanga also topped the qualifying round with a throw of 82.84 metres, ahead of Grenada’s Anderson Peters at 81.29 metres and South Africa’s Douw Smit at 80.64 metres. England’s Ben East placed fourth with 80.38 metres, while Chopra qualified fifth at 79.61 metres. Australia’s Cameron McEntyre secured sixth spot with 78.91 metres, narrowly edging out Nadeem for the position.
Pakistan’s other representative, Yasir Sultan, did not make it to the final, finishing 14th in qualification with a best throw of 74.36 metres.
The outcome of the Arshad Nadeem javelin final marks a disappointing turn for Pakistan’s star athlete, who will now look to regroup ahead of future competitions after failing to defend his Commonwealth Games title in Glasgow.