Shafaqna Pakistan: Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem failed to retain his Commonwealth Games javelin title after finishing outside the medal positions in the final on Friday night.
Competing at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, the defending champion endured a disappointing outing and was unable to challenge for a place on the podium.
In the final, Arshad registered no mark on his opening attempt, before recording throws of 77.41 metres and 75.39 metres on his next two attempts. He finished ninth among the 12 finalists, ending his title defence.
After four rounds of competition, Sri Lanka’s Romesh Tharanga led the standings with a best throw of 89.75 metres, while India’s Neeraj Chopra was in second place with an effort of 85.83 metres.
Defending champion Arshad Nadeem was in the field to defend his gold medal, qualifying for the men’s javelin throw final by finishing seventh in the qualifying round with a best throw of 78.63 metres.
Arshad’s campaign in Glasgow had already raised eyebrows on Thursday when he barely scraped into the finals with a sluggish qualification throw of 78.63 metres. Any hopes of a final-round resurgence quickly evaporated under the stadium lights.
The defending champion began his evening with a foul on his first attempt. He followed it up with a disappointing 77.41 metre throw, before registering a dismal 75.61 metres on his third attempt. The subpar performance slammed the exit door shut, preventing him from booking a spot in the top-eight shootout.
The collapse marks a stunning fall from grace for the Mian Channu-born athlete, who had set the Commonwealth Games record in Birmingham four years ago with a massive 90.18 metre throw to secure gold.
This disaster marks Arshad’s third consecutive failure within a month. Prior to the Glasgow Games, the ace thrower put up an uncharacteristic display at a meet in Switzerland, followed by his twin struggles in the Commonwealth qualifiers and final.
Despite claiming gold at the Asian Championship, Arshad has struggled to find the rhythm that enabled him to stun the world with a historic 92.97 metre monster throw at the Paris Olympics.
His recent inability to breach even the 80-metre mark will surely sound alarm bells for his coach, Salman Butt, and the athletics authorities of the country.
Source: Dunya News
