Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has become the first Pakistani to qualify for any Olympic track and field final after making it to the ultimate contest at the Olympics.
In a display of his scintillating talent, the 24-year-old threw the javelin as far as 85.16m. The minimum requirement for making it to the final was for an athlete to throw the spear at a minimum distance of 83.5m.
Nadeem’s best score came in the second attempt.
His medal quest will culminate on Saturday, beginning at 4p.m. PST.
Nadeem will have to challenge India’s Neeraj Chopra and Germany’s Johannes Vetter, the two top throwers respectively, to realize his Olympic medal dream.
The athlete’s successful pre-final display thrilled Pakistanis, who are desperately looking for a hero of their own in the Tokyo Games.
The mainstream media ran lead stories on Nadeem’s success and several social media users posted congratulatory messages, wishing the athlete success in the final.
Pakistan has not had world-class facilities or standards in the many forms of athletics.
