Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem will not participate in the Doha Diamond League, with the javelin star now directing his attention toward the Commonwealth Games among other major events this season, journalist Sohail Imran has claimed.
The Doha Diamond League is scheduled for June 19 at the Qatar Sports Club, forming the seventh stop of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League season.
It may be noted that Nadeem had earlier indicated he wanted to assess his fitness before committing to competitions.
Earlier this month, speaking during a training session at Punjab Stadium in Lahore, where he resumed practice under coach Salman Iqbal Butt following Hajj pilgrimage, the 28-year-old said that he would take a measured approach to his return.
“I will see where I stand after training, then decide,” he said. “There are very important events in the season.
My focus is on the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Ultimate Championship,” Nadeem added.
He also credited a recent performance by Sri Lankan javelin thrower Rumesh Pathirage, who recorded a throw of 92.62 metres at the Rome Diamond League earlier this month, as a source of motivation. “The competition has grown, and I need to train accordingly.”
Pathirage’s throw is the second-best javelin performance by an Asian in history, behind Nadeem’s own Olympic record of 92.97 metres set in Paris.
Nadeem won Olympic gold at Paris 2024 with said throw, setting both an Olympic and Asian record, making him Pakistan’s first-ever individual Olympic gold medallist.
He previously claimed gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a throw of 90.18 metres and silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a throw of 87.82 metres, Pakistan’s first-ever medal at the World Athletics Championships.
