PARIS: Arshad Nadeem needed just one extension of his arm at the Stade de France and a spot in the final was secured. Pakistan’s javelin star found the distance on Tuesday, recording a season’s best 86.59m throw on his first attempt of the qualification round to make his way into Thursday’s decider.

With the qualification mark set at 84m, Arshad finished third in Group ‘B’, behind holder Neeraj Chopra of India, who topped the standings with a monstrous 89.34m thrown on his first attempt.

Grenada’s Anderson Peters was second in Group ‘B’, and in the overall grouping, with 88.63m on one attempt.

Arshad was fourth overall, behind German Julian Weber who reached 87.76 on his lone attempt to finish at the top of Group ‘A’.

Kenyan Julius Yeo, the silver medallist in 2016, stepped awkwardly on his approach and crashed to the ground as he hurled the javelin 85.97m to reach the final on his last attempt.

Czech Jakub Vadlejch, silver medallist in Tokyo, was seventh overall with 85.63 behind Mauricio Luiz de Silva of Brazil (85.91).

With Arshad and Neeraj easing through, talk of a potential South Asian battle for gold has reached fever pitch.

Arshad, however, said he wished Chopra the best for the final.

“It gives me immense joy that there are only two of us from South Asia, myself and Neeraj, who are performing on the world stage along,” he told Olympics.com after his qualification. “I hope that we continue to perform for our respective countries and make the names of our countries shine bright globally.”

Arshad finished fifth when Chopra claimed gold in Tokyo three years ago. He has since then won gold at the Commonwealth Games and was a silver medallist at the world athletics championships last year behind Chopra.

“At every competition, the aim of every athlete remains to try and perform to the best of their ability,” he said, looking ahead to the final. “Every athlete wishes to start well and I’m happy with my effort today. I’ll try to do the best I can in the final.”

But he wasn’t being drawn into a potential showdown with Chopra in two days’ time. For all talk of a rivalry between the two, Arshad and Chopra are not only friends off the field but also have mutual respect for each other.

“We met each other a few times at the Olympic village here,” said Arshad. “We have a bit of a chat every time we meet. And we spoke just now as well, and he said congratulations to me after the qualification.

“Usually, we speak about things that friends talk about. The usual stuff. And we wished each other that we do well for our respective countries.”

Chopra, meanwhile, wasn’t getting too carried away despite bagging the farthest throw of the day and his best of the season.

“It was a good throw. Maybe the biggest ever in qualifying for me. All the throwers look in good shape,” he said. “This was just the qualification round. The final is a different ball game. Everyone will have a chance to make the podium and it’s a different mindset altogether.

“I know I have not reached my peak. I am not yet as good as I would like to be technically or in distance, so I want to improve and throw further. And I want to set an example for other Indian athletes so that we can compete here with the best.”

Peters, the world champion in 2019 and 2022, was looking forward to the final as he looks for a maiden Olympic gold. “It would be great to finish on the podium,” he told reporters.

Weber endured fourth-place heartbreak in Tokyo and again at the two most recent worlds but said he was ready to fight again for the podium.

“It would mean everything to me [to win a medal]. It’s my biggest dream,” he told reporters. “I will go all in on Thursday and hopefully I get one.”

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2024