Arshad Nadeem qualifies for Commonwealth Games javelin final

Defending champion Arshad Nadeem booked his place in the men’s javelin throw final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after progressing through a challenging qualification round on Thursday.

The qualification event proved demanding for the entire field, with a strong headwind preventing athletes from producing their best distances. As a result, none of the competitors managed to achieve the automatic qualification mark of 84 metres.

Arshad, who entered the competition as one of the favourites for a medal, registered a throw of 78.63 metres in his opening attempt. The Pakistani star then fouled his second throw before recording 75.65 metres with his final effort.

Although he fell short of the automatic qualifying standard, his best effort was enough to comfortably secure a place among the top 12 athletes advancing to Friday’s final.

Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage emerged as the leading performer in qualification with a throw of 82.84 metres. Grenada’s world champion Anderson Peters followed with 81.29 metres, while South Africa’s Douw Smit (80.64m) and England’s Benjamin East (80.38m) were the only other competitors to surpass the 80-metre mark.

India’s star thrower and Arshad’s long-time rival, Neeraj Chopra, also advanced to the final. Chopra opened with a throw of 76.28 metres before improving to 79.61 metres on his second attempt, which earned him qualification.

India will have three representatives in the final after both Rohit Yadav and Yashveer Singh secured qualification. Rohit recorded a best throw of 78.37 metres, while Yashveer improved steadily throughout the round, finishing with a best effort of 78.36 metres.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Muhammad Yasir Sultan failed to progress to the medal round. After fouling his opening attempt, Yasir responded with throws of 71.42 metres and 74.36 metres but was unable to secure a place among the finalists.

The men’s javelin throw final is scheduled to take place on Friday, July 31, at 7:45 PM Pakistan Standard Time.

For the unversed, Pakistan made its Commonwealth Games debut in 1954 and has since won 82 medals: 27 gold, 27 silver, and 28 bronze.

The country enjoyed its best Commonwealth Games campaign in five decades at the 2022 Birmingham Games, where a 68-member contingent competed across 12 sports.

Pakistan finished 18th in the medal standings with eight medals.

Arshad Nadeem delivered one of the standout performances in Birmingham, winning the men’s javelin throw with a Games record of 90.18 meters to secure Pakistan’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal in athletics since 1962.