Pakistan’s Nadeem Arshad has qualified for the final in the men’s javelin throw after beating everyone in the qualification round during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on Wednesday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Nadeem Arshad went on top of the Group B standings with a throw of 85.16. He breached the automatic qualification mark to enter final, which will be played on August 7 (Saturday).
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Meanwhile, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra also qualified for the final with a throw of 86.65m in only the first attempt. Shivpal Singh, another Indian javelin thrower, failed to join Neeraj in the final with the best throw of 76.40m.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem was the country’s last surviving athlete in the Tokyo Olympics. Before going to Tokyo, Arshad Nadeem directly qualified for the Olympic Games when he made a throw of 86.29m in the South Asian Games at Kathmandu. His current world ranking is 23. However, his seasonal best, which is also his personal best - a throw of 86.38 - is one of the best ten throws of the season.
His medal-winning throw in Iran in April this year put him at 7th among the top best throwers of the season.
Nadeem is placed in Group B at Olympic Games alongside world number three Chao-Tsun Cheng and world number five Anderson Peters.
A total of 32 contestants are divided in two groups of 16 each. According to qualification criteria, athletes with a throw of minimum 83.50m or at least 12 best performers advance to the final.