By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan swept the top two places in the men’s javelin final at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games on Wednesday as Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem defended his title with gold and Muhammad Yasir snatched silver on his last throw.
The 28-year-old Nadeem, who set a new Olympic record of 92.97 metres to win gold at Paris 2024, was in a class of his own in the seven-man field and the only athlete to surpass 80 metres. He took the lead from the opening round and sealed victory with 83.05m on his second attempt, although the mark was well short of the 88.55m games record he set when he won the title at the previous edition.
Nadeem opened with 75.44m, then threw 83.05m and 82.41m in his next two efforts before dropping to 77.06m in the fourth round and fouling his fifth. His final throw of 77.98m was academic; he immediately dropped to the track in prostration, then rose to shake hands with rivals who were already pulling on tracksuits in the cool 20-degree Riyadh evening.
Yasir, 27, produced the dramatic moment of the night when he unleashed 76.04m with his sixth and final throw to overtake Nigeria’s Samuel Adams Kure (76.01m) for silver and complete Pakistan’s one-two. The result lifted Pakistan’s medal tally at the Games to four, after boxers Fatima Zahra and Qudrat Ullah had earlier claimed bronze in their respective categories.
A modest crowd at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium gathered behind the javelin sector, waving green-and-white flags and holding up phones to capture images of Nadeem, Pakistan’s six-foot-two national hero. After the medal ceremony fans mobbed Nadeem for selfies as he walked toward his coach Salman Iqbal Butt in the stands.
Speaking afterwards, Nadeem credited the victory to the prayers of his countrymen and his recovery from injury. “I’m quite happy because I won this accolade right after my injury,” he said. “My focus now is on preparing for competitions in 2026, because prior to this I was consumed with my injury, surgery and recovery. I thank God for letting me get back to this level of fitness, and I congratulate the nation on this win.”
Yasir’s winning mark remained short of the 80-metre barrier he has been chasing and also below his personal-best and season-best 77.43m that earned him bronze at the Asian Throwing Championships in South Korea in August. The Pakistani pair last competed together at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea in May, where Nadeem won gold with 86.40m and Yasir placed eighth with 75.39m.
Wednesday’s competition marked only Nadeem’s third international appearance of the year after calf pain forced him out of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, where he finished 10th before undergoing summer surgery. The Islamic Solidarity Games, delayed from 2022, are taking place well outside the usual northern-hemisphere track and field season, which concluded with the world championships and an adjusted Diamond League calendar.
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