Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem on Saturday won gold at the men’s javelin final of the Asian Athletics Championship in South Korea’s Gumi, recording a massive 86.40m throw.

 

This was Arshad's best throw of the day, coming on his final (sixth) attempt after throws of 75.64m, 76.80m, 83.99m, 83.44m, before he sealed the win with 86.40m. This is also the best throw in Asia this year .

 

India's Yadav claimed the silver medal with a personal best 85.16m throw, achieved on his sixth attempt. His other throws included 77.37m, 83.08m, and several strong efforts to stay in contention.

 

Japan's Sakiyama secured bronze with another personal best throw of 83.75m, recorded in his sixth attempt after consistent efforts of 79.52m and 79.35m.

 

Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, who was leading the field early on, finished fourth with a best of 83.27m. His performance included a foul, 76.51m, and the 83.27m throw that kept him in the top spots till the final round.

 

India's Yash Vir Singh made a strong comeback after two no-throws and ended fifth with a personal best of 82.57m, following throws of 80.23m and 80.23m again.

 

China's Hu Haoran finished sixth with a season-best 80.93m, maintaining consistency with throws of 78.77m, 77.44m, and 78.24m.

 

Sri Lanka's Mudiyanselage Ranasinghe ended seventh with a throw of 79.81m, while Pakistan's Yasir Sultan came eighth with his best throw of 75.39m.

 

This historic victory makes Arshad the first Pakistani in over 50 years to win gold at the Asian Athletics Championships. It is also Pakistan’s first gold medal at the event since 1973, when Allah Daad won in javelin and Muhammad Younis claimed gold in the 800 meters at the championship held in the Philippines.

 

The crowd erupted when Arshad stepped up for his final attempt, with patriotic songs like 'Dil Dil Pakistan' playing in the stadium. This was Arshad's first international event since winning gold at the Paris Olympics last year, where he threw a record-breaking 92.97m.

 

In the qualifying round a day earlier, Arshad had thrown an impressive 86.34m on his first and only attempt, while Yasir qualified with 76.07m.

 

Arshad is now expected to travel to England to continue his training ahead of the World Athletics Championships in September.