LAHORE: Salman Butt, the coach of leading javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, said on Monday that Arshad was in good shape, adding that it was extremely difficult to cope with the hot conditions in Lahore ahead of the Paris Olympics, which will formally open on July 26. .
“He is in good form and we will try to improve him. We worked hard but the weather affected our training. We do not have indoor air conditioning. Training is very difficult,” Butt said in a detailed chat.
Butt and Arshad are going to leave for Paris at two in the morning on Tuesday. Arshad will compete in the qualifying stage which will be held on August 6, while the final will be held on August 8.
This is the second time that world silver medalist Arshad is participating in the Olympics. He finished fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Despite the tough conditions, we worked hard and made four to five techniques,” said Butt. “Because of the heat, the body will stiffen and also the legs where he was injured, and we have to carry him carefully while we take care of all these things,” he said.
“We are now moving into better weather conditions in Paris and will use about 12 days there according to our plans,” Butt said. “As you get closer to competition, you reduce the load and the movement becomes faster and the repetitions decrease. We need speed,” he said. Arshad is the country’s only medal hope at the Paris Olympics. His personal best throw is 90.18m, which is counted as the best in the world. He did it in 2022 at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which was also a Games record throw.
Arshad, who has been dogged by injuries for a long time, has finally regained fitness and put in a solid effort at the Diamond League in Paris a few days ago where he finished fourth with a throw of 84.21m.
After a year when he won silver at the world championships in Hungary last year, the first ever in athletics for the country, he introduced himself in any competition. Arshad is one of four Pakistani players who have directly qualified for the Paris Olympics, the other three are shooters who have already reached France to begin their competition at the Olympics on July 27 at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre. Pakistan last won a medal at the Olympics in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics when the national men’s hockey team finished on the podium.
In individual sports, Pakistan won its last medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics through Hussain Shah who won a bronze, the only medal the country has won in boxing in its Olympic history. Apart from Arshad, sprinter Faiqa Riaz will also compete in the Olympics as a wild card. She will run the 100m. She has also been training hard at the Punjab Stadium and is expected to perform at her best.
As many as three shooters, two athletes and two swimmers will represent Pakistan at the Olympics. English doctor Bajwa will also accompany Arshad to the Olympics. He recently visited Lahore and was with him in the Diamond League.
