Sports journalist Aalia Rasheed has criticised Pakistani athletes over their handling of success after Olympic gold medallist and defending champion Arshad Nadeem’s early exit from the men’s javelin final of the ongoing Commonwealth Games.
Her comment came in response to a post by fellow sports journalist Faizan Lakhani, who wrote, “Arshad… what have you done to yourself,” reacting to Nadeem’s performance in Glasgow.
“Pakistani players/athletes ka aik hee issue samajh aaya hai, inko paisa raa’s nahi aata or inkay Khawab chotay hain! They lack pursue of greatness! [I’ve come to understand one issue with Pakistani players and athletes, they don’t know how to handle money and their dreams are small! They lack pursuit of greatness!],” Rasheed wrote while quoting Lakhani’s post.
The comment drew a range of reactions online. One user called it “absolutely pinpoint analysis” while another pushed back, arguing that a Commonwealth gold and an Olympic gold amount to a fairly strong career. They suggested her point applied more to cricketers than to Nadeem.
A third response placed blame on how early Pakistan turns its athletes into stars, saying it often causes their downfall.
Another simply described the comment as “very raw”.
Nadeem’s title defence fell apart within three throws on Friday as he fouled his opening attempt at Scotstoun Stadium and never recovered, managing only one legal throw of 77.41 meters in the second round before three more fouls ended his competition.
The defending Commonwealth and Olympic champion finished ninth out of the 12 athletes in the final.
While Nadeem struggled, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage seized his moment. He launched a throw of 89.75 meters in the second round, a mark none of his rivals could match, and fouled all five of his remaining attempts.
The distance held up for gold.
Pathirage’s win marked Sri Lanka’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal in 20 years. The country’s last champion was weightlifter Chinthana Vidanage, who won the men’s 62 kg title at Melbourne 2006. Pathirage also became the third South Asian athlete to win the men’s javelin title at the Commonwealth Games.
India’s Neeraj Chopra took silver with a season-best throw of 85.83 meters, also recorded in the second round.
His teammate Yash Vir Singh claimed bronze with a personal best of 85.41 meters, thrown on his final attempt. The result marked the first time India has won two medals in the men’s javelin at a single Commonwealth Games.
Nadeem’s exit stands in sharp contrast to the highs of his career. He won Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games with a throw of 92.97 meters, a mark that broke the Olympic record and stood as Pakistan’s first individual gold medal at the Summer Games.
Two years earlier, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, he won gold with a throw of 90.18 meters, becoming the first South Asian athlete to clear the 90-meter mark and setting a Commonwealth Games record in the process.
