Olympics: South Asian athletes competing in men's javelin
Arshad Nadeem, gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and silver at the World Championships in Budapest last year, has a good chance of giving Pakistan its first Olympic medal in 32 years. His main rival is a "neighbour", India’s Neeraj Chopra, the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist. Unlike the governments of their respective countries, there is no rivalry between the two athletes, only a good sporting relationship.
Paris (AsiaNews) – India’s Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic champion in men's javelin throw could be dethroned by another South Asian athlete, Arshad Nadeem, one of the seven Pakistani athletes at the Games, the flag bearer and the only one who seems to have a chance at a spot on the podium at the Paris 2024 Games.
After going through the qualifying round on the first throw, with 89.34 and 86.59 metres respectively, Nadeem and Chopra will meet again on Thursday for the final, when the athletes might have to throw the javelin more than 90 metres to win.
Nadeem has already managed a 90.18 metres throw, but only once, while the Indian is still six centimetres short of that distance. Still, in international competitions, Nadeem has been chasing Chopra since 2016.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Pakistani finished fifth, while at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, he won gold. At last year's World Athletics Championships in Budapest he came in second step behind the Indian. Nevertheless, “I feel strong and fit,” Nadeem told Al Jazeera, “and quite hopeful of a strong performance in Paris.”
Pakistan has not won a medal since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where it took home a bronze in men’s field hockey.
Both Nadeem and Chopra were born in 1997 (in January and December respectively). The Pakistani trains at home, in Lahore (Punjab), even when temperatures reach 45 degrees.
His current coach, Salman Iqbal Butt, 66, won two silver medals in the discus throw at the 1989 and 1991 Asian Games.
“In the world of elite athletics, it all comes down to your support system and who is looking out for you. In Pakistan, even though our overall structure might not be the best, coaches like Butt sahib really make a difference,” Nadeem said.
The third of seven siblings, when he was a child he ate meat only once a year like the rest of the family, during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, also called the Feast of Sacrifice.
As a young boy, Nadeem tried his hand at cricket, the most popular sport in South Asia. But soon moved on, to individual sports, and tried various athletic disciplines at school.
In 2011 he was noticed by Rasheed Ahmed Saqi, his first coach, who in addition to buying him his first pair of spiked shoes to compete, secured him a job at a public utility.
In 2015 Nadeem became the national champion and the following year his international career took off.
Today he is financially backed by three major sponsors and a scholarship under the Olympic Solidarity programme set up by the International Olympic Committee.
Unlike the governments of their countries, there is no rivalry between Nadeem and Chopra. On the contrary, in several interviews the Pakistani javelin thrower stressed that he is on excellent terms with his Indian colleague and that he competes first and foremost against himself.
“India is our neighbour,” Arshad Nadeem said. “People on both sides say a lot of things about each other’s country, but this is what sports teaches us – to be friendly and that we don’t have to focus on our differences.”
In fact, “Usually, we speak about things that friends talk about. The usual stuff,” he said in Paris after the qualifiers.
What is more, “It gives me immense joy that there are only two of us from South Asia, myself and Neeraj bhai (brother), who are performing on the world stage along with the other players,” he added.
“At every competition, the aim of every athlete remains to try and perform to the best of their ability. I wish Neeraj the best of luck. May he and I both do well for our respective countries,” Nadeem said.
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