Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem finishes fifth in javelin throw final

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem on Saturday missed out on a medal at Tokyo Olympics as the Mian Channu athlete finished fifth in the final of the men’s javelin throw final.

The 24-year-old athlete finished fifth among 12 contestants as India’s Neeraj Chopra won gold and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely claimed silver and bronze medals.

Arshad Nadeem was aspiring to win Pakistan’s first Olympics medal since the men’s hockey team earned a podium finish in 1992.

The athlete made history last week as he became first-ever Pakistani athlete to qualify for the final of any track and field event in the Olympics. His throw not only won hearts in Pakistan but also across the border. Soon after he qualified for final, his his name and sport both trending on top on Twitter.

Arshad Nadeem had sealed his spot in the athletics competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a record breaking performance at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Nadeem won the men’s gold on day 7 with a new event record distance of 86.29 metres.

With the Olympic qualification standard set at 85 metres, it was enough to also confirm his place at the Games in 2020.

The 22-year-old competed at the Doha 2019 IAAF World Championships and is the first Pakistani track and field athlete to achieve direct qualification for an Olympics since before he was born.