Two key mentors of Pakistan’s Olympics gold medalist javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem have blamed lack of training and negligence for his flop show in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, urging the Olympic champion to work extremely hard for a comeback.
Nadeem, who shattered records at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 92.97 meter throw, looked completely off-colour as he finished ninth in the 12-man final, leaving fans and coaching staff shell-shocked
Arshad’s campaign was off to a sluggish qualification throw of 78.63 metres as he barely qualified for the final. His 77.41 metre throw was not enough for a medal contention in the competition won by Sri Lanka’s rising star Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage with a brilliant 89.75 metre throw.
India’s Neeraj Chopra, a close rival of Nadeem for the last four years, took the silver while another Indian Yash Vir Singh clinched the bronze.
Akram Sahi, the first official to help Nadeem rise in early 2018, blamed certain characters who highjacked him. “Since Nadeem’s Olympic gold medal a coterie highjacked him and never let him come to me,” Sahi, a former president of Pakistan Athletics Federation, told Telecom Asia Sport.
“This result in Glasgow is hugely disappointing for someone who has risen to new heights but the signs were imminent for the last several months as there was negligence and lack of training.”
Another mentor who doesn’t want to be named agreed with Sahi. “Arshad Nadeem had become complacent and what we noticed was lack of training and after he was busy in Haj this year he did not do proper training,” he added.
“He won the Olympics after he got extensive training from his South African coach Terseus Liebenberg. His training stints at Northwest University Potchefstroom also helped him clinched an Olympic gold.
“Now he waited for Federation and government to send him to South Africa for training. He has got good money in rewards after the Paris show so he should have invested on himself rather than waiting for someone to send him,”he added.
The mentor blamed lack of proper coach for Nadeem. “Salman Butt, the current coach with Nadeem has nothing to do with javelin throw, he was an ordinary discus throw athlete with no achievements but he has been with Nadeem like a shadow and that has affected his performance.
“Since getting some good cash rewards to the tune of 300 million PKR, Nadeem is more into business ventures and is building a marriage hall and restaurant in his hometown Mian Channu which takes his time and attention. An athlete doesn’t need such diversions.”
Sahi, also chairman of South Asian Athletics Federation, showed delight at the emergence of Pathirage and Vir Singh. “This is a welcome sign the medals remained in South Asia with a Sri Lankan emerging after some real hard work.”
Fans also showed disappointment over Nadeem’s lackluster show. “He (Nadeem) was pampered by people who matters,” said Ahsan Muneeb who has followed Games as an analyst. “Instead of giving him millions that pampered him, the government and sports authorities should have arranged a high quality foreign coach and settled him in places like Germany, South Africa or England so that he could have got better training and would have been better acclimatized.
“It will be near impossible for him to stage a come back.”
