Arshad | Pakistan

TOKYO: The night was Keshorn Walcott’s from the start. Right from the second throw, he had the lead in the men’s javelin final. The highly-anticipated clash of the South Asian titans — Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra — failed to gain momentum in the sold-out Japan National Stadium that turned its attention to Walcott on his way to winning his maiden world title. Walcott’s win, thanks to a season’s best 88.16m throw, was pleasantly surprising but not entirely unexpected given he was ranked fourth in the world coming into the World Athletics Championships. Anderson Peters of Grenada was the favorite for gold after an “unexpected’ 89.53m throw in the qualifiers. Curtis Thompson was another surprise of the night as he took bronze in an event the US hasn’t medalled in since 2007. But the burden of expectations was largely on Arshad and Chopra; one an Olympic champion, one the reigning champion, both poster boys for sporting excellence and Pakistan-India rivalry outside of cricket. A brotherly relationship kindled ...

LAHORE: Olympic javelin throw champion Arshad Nadeem on Tuesday said that he was looking to produce his best as the star athlete gets ready for a top-level competition at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The 28-year-old Arshad, who stunned the athletics world by throwing the javelin at an Olympic record 92.97 metres distance to achieve glory for Pakistan at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was seen preparing for the Sept 13-21 global spectacle at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore just a few hours before leaving for Tokyo via Bangkok. And the celebrated player during practice attempted throws at distances above 85 metres, showing he is in good shape for the challenge in Tokyo. “I always target to do my best in every event and I am going to Tokyo with the same mission with high hopes. And rest is on my God; He will do better,” Arshad told reporters after completing his final practice session. Answering a volley of questions about his competition against India’s Neeraj Chopra, Arshad said: “My competition is alway...