By Alam Zeb Safi
LAHORE: Reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem clinched the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event at the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
Competing at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Nadeem recorded a best throw of 83.05m, achieved on his second attempt, to successfully defend his title in a seven-man competition.
Nadeem previously topped the podium at the 2022 Games in Konya, where he set a Games record of 88.55m, and had secured a bronze medal at the 2017 edition in Baku.
The Olympic champion began his title defence with a 75.44m throw before improving to 83.05m. His remaining attempts measured 82.48m and 77.06m, followed by a foul, and he closed the competition with a 77.98m throw.
Pakistan also celebrated another podium finish as Muhammad Yasir Sultan earned the silver medal with a throw of 76.04m. Yasir’s throws break-up was 70.32m, 74.43m, 72.82m, 73.78m, 71.79m, 76,04m.
It means he did the job in the sixth and final attempt to secure silver, his first in the event. Yasir was also part of the 2017 Baku Islamic Games but failed to impress. He did not feature in the 2022 Turkey Islamic Games.
Meanwhile the bronze went to Nigeria’s Samuel Adams Kure with a 76.01m effort.
This competition marked Nadeem’s third major appearance of the year.
After capturing gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a record-breaking throw, Nadeem opened the 2025 season with another gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, Korea. His campaign was briefly disrupted due to calf surgery, forcing him to miss the Diamond League circuit. He returned at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September where he finished a modest 10th.
Nadeem’s season-best performance so far is an 86.40m throw, recorded in Gumi which secured his Asian title.
With Nadeem’s latest triumph, Pakistan’s medal tally at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games now stands at three. The country’s earlier medals, both bronze, were won by boxers Qudratullah (men’s 55kg) and Fatima Zahra (women’s 60kg).
