ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem qualified for the men’s javelin throw final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Thursday after his opening throw of 78.63 meters was enough to secure a place in the medal round despite difficult throwing conditions.
None of the athletes reached the automatic qualifying standard of 84 meters as a strong headwind limited distances throughout the competition, leaving the top 12 throwers based on their best marks to progress to Friday’s final.
Nadeem, who is defending the Commonwealth title he won in Birmingham in 2022, advanced in seventh place after opening with 78.63m. He fouled his second attempt before finishing with 75.65m on his third, but his first throw proved sufficient to reach the final.
The 29-year-old made history four years ago when his Games record throw of 90.18m earned Pakistan its first Commonwealth athletics gold medal since 1962. He later became Pakistan’s first Olympic athletics champion by winning gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024 with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m.
“Arshad Nadeem qualifies for the Men’s Javelin Throw Final at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games after registering a throw of 78.63m in the qualification round, finishing 7th overall,” the Pakistan Olympics Association announced. “He will be back in action in the final tomorrow as he aims to bring more glory to Pakistan.”
The men’s javelin final will be held on Friday, July 31, with competition scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.
Pakistan has competed at every Commonwealth Games since 1954 and has won 82 medals, including 27 golds. Nadeem is widely regarded as the country’s strongest medal prospect in Glasgow, where Pakistan is represented by a 36-member contingent competing in athletics, boxing, swimming, gymnastics, judo and lawn bowls.
On Thursday, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage topped the qualification standings with 82.84m, followed by Grenada’s reigning world champion Anderson Peters with 81.29m. South Africa’s Douw Smit (80.64m) and England’s Benjamin East (80.38m) were the only other athletes to surpass 80 meters.
India’s Neeraj Chopra, one of the favorites for the title, qualified in fifth after improving from 76.28m on his opening attempt to 79.61m with his second throw. India will have three athletes in the final after Rohit Yadav (78.37m) and Yashveer Singh (78.36m) also progressed, while Australia’s Cameron McEntire advanced in sixth with 78.91m.
Pakistan’s Yasir Sultan failed to qualify, finishing 14th. After fouling his opening attempt, he threw 71.42m in the second round before improving to 74.36m with his final effort.
As per the javelin throw competition format at Glasgow 2026, athletes who throw 84.00m or farther in the qualification round automatically advance to the final.
If fewer than 12 competitors achieve the qualifying mark, the remaining places in the final are filled by the next-best performers until a 12-athlete field for the final is complete.
