Pakistan’s Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem is facing criticism after a disappointing performance at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Nadeem finished 9th in Glasgow with a best effort of under 80 meters. Sri Lanka’s Romesh Tharanga won the gold medal, while India’s Neeraj Chopra and Yashvir Singh took silver and bronze respectively. This result is not considered unexpected, as Arshad participated in only one competition in Switzerland to prepare for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Furthermore, he spent most of his time practicing in the hot climate of Lahore without the direct supervision of any foreign coach or trainer. Arshad, who had previously trained under South African coach Tersius Liebenberg, this time prepared with his local coach Salman Butt and local trainers. Ironically, the weather conditions in Lahore and Glasgow were completely different from each other. Arshad, who became the defending champion by winning the gold medal with a best effort of 90.12 meters in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022, could not even cross the 80 meter mark in the final this time.
There was not enough preparation
Due to his poor performance, he failed to qualify for the top-8 finals. This was a major blow to his fans, as Arshad, who won the Olympic gold medal with a record throw of 92.97 meters, struggled to even clear 80 meters this time. Arshad’s longtime coach, Salman Butt, admitted that Arshad was not at his best at the Commonwealth Games and that his preparation was inadequate.
Pakistan pulled back
Arshad faced many problems off the field as well. The biggest problem was that the Pakistan Amateur Athletics Federation (PAAF) almost distanced itself from him last year after a dispute over the retention of coach Salman. A reliable source close to Arshad revealed that since the end of last year, the PAAF and even the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) have not provided Arshad with the support he needed during his preparations for the Commonwealth Games. According to the source, the PAAF completely disregarded his preparations and ignored some of his training-related demands.
Similarly, the PSB did not release any financial assistance to provide the services of foreign coaches and trainers for training in Lahore. Former Olympic bronze medalist boxer Hussain Shah said, “This is a player who made his mark through his hard work. He comes from a village and a low-income family, yet he brought such great achievements to Pakistan through gold medals. Despite this, he could not prepare properly for the Commonwealth Games. This paints a sad picture of our sports infrastructure.”
Pakistan’s first female boxer to win a Commonwealth Games medal, Fatima Zahra, also said she could have won a gold medal in her weight category if she had received better training and more international opportunities. Fatima won a bronze medal in boxing, which is Pakistan’s only medal so far at the ongoing Commonwealth Games, after sending a 36-member team.