Pakistan’s premier javelin thrower, Arshad Nadeem, revealed that he hasn’t had a world-class javelin for seven to eight years.
Talking to local media, Arshad said: “It is very important to have a javelin of international standard. It improves the game and maintains uniformity in training because if you train with local javelin and go abroad with international javelin, it makes a difference in the performance.”
Arshad confessed that his game-day javelin is damaged: “I am training with a local javelin for the Paris Olympics. There is a risk of injury from using local and non-standard javelins, I underwent surgery on my right knee last month after one on my left knee and right elbow.”
According to Arshad, an international-level javelin costs between 700,000 – 800,000 PKR /-
“For international competitions, there should be at least five or six javelins. A local javelin costs 1 to 1.5 lac rupees but they are not of a good quality.”
The javelin thrower stressed upon the difference in training between him and Indian Olympic Gold medalist, Neeraj Chopra. Arshad said that he does not have a ground available to train consistently.
“After last night’s surgery, I have also started rehabilitation and will be back in full rhythm in a month. My current target is the Paris Olympics for which we have qualified for the second time. There will be a couple of events to prepare for before that and I am also going to South Africa for training.”
This needs to be addressed. He needs a pack of 10 javelins ASAP. We don’t treat our track and field athletes with respect.