By AA Correspondent
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem stunned the field and perhaps surpassed his own expectations with a second-round throw of 92.97m to post an Olympic record in javelin throw and to beat his friend and rival from India, Neeraj Chopra, for the first time in his career at the Stade de France on Thursday.
It was Asia’s third gold in these Games, Chinese woman walker Yang Jiayu in 20km racewalk and Bahrain woman steeplechaser Winfred Yavi having won the other two on earlier days.
Troubled by injuries, hampered by lack of resources and stymied by limited competitions for the past two years, the 27-year-old Nadeem won for his country its first Olympic gold in athletics which actually was its first Olympic athletics medal as well. It was after 32 years that Pakistan was winning a medal in the Olympics in 32 years. The last time was the bronze in hockey in 1992.
Chopra followed up his gold in Tokyo and the World championships in Budapest last year to win for his country its first silver medal in these Games following four bronze medals in shooting and men’s hockey put together. He had his season best of 89.45m, his only valid throw of an evening that saw the top seven crossing 86.0m. Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada won the bronze with 88.54m.
Nadeem, having ensured the gold, still went for an improvement and landed another 90-metre mark, 91.79m, his second best ever. He bettered the Olympic record of Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen set in Beijing in 2008, that of 90.57m, and also the Asian record of 91.36m, set by Taipei’s Cheng Chao-Tsun in 2017.
Pushed into the background, at least from an Asian perspective this day, was American Sydney McLaughlin-Levorone’s world record in the women’s 400m hurdles. The peerless American woman lived up to her pre-Games billing with an effortless victory in 50.37s that bettered her own world record of 50.65s at the US Olympic trials in Oregon this year.
Femke Bol disappointed
Dutchwoman Femke Bol, tipped to challenge McLaughlin-Levrone and in splendid form this season, faded to third as American Anna Cockrell caught up and passed her between the ninth and tenth hurdles on the home straight. The American clocked 51.87s with Bol at 52.15s. The Dutchwoman was terribly disappointed as she walked off shaking her head.
In more exciting athletics action on Thursday, American Tara Davis-Woodhall upstaged defending champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany, going past the seven-metre mark to upgrade her sixth place to crown the new champion.
Noah Lyles’s dream of at least a treble came crashing down as he finished third in the men’s 200m and later revealed he had been afflicted with Covid infection for the past few days, leaving him drained and sleepless.
Botswana’s Letsile Tebego won the 200m title in an Area record of 19.46s, fifth on the world all-time list. American Kenny Bednarek took the silver in 19.62 with Noah coming home for the bronze in 19.70s. Noah, the 100m champion, over Jamaican Kishane Thompson in a photo-finish, was cautioned for his gamesmanship and time-wasting tactics at the start that had to be held up as he pranced around with the others waiting on the blocks.
Before the night was out, American Grant Holloway ran away with the men’s 110m hurdles gold 12.99s. Holloway’s team-mate Daniel Roberts and Jamaican Rasheed Broadbell were timed 13.09s behind the champion. Roberts was adjudged second by five-thousandth of a second.
Since losing to Hansle Parchment of Jamaica in the Tokyo Games final Holloway had taken two World championships titles and as many Worlds Indoor titles, but this one was the big title missing from his cupboard. Rachid Muratake of Japan was fifth in 13.21s while Parchment wound up last.
The day belonged to Nadeem and McLaughlin-Levrone. The Pakistani was tipped to be one of the main challengers for Chopra along with Peters and Czech Yakub Vadlejch who was the last to beat the Indian this season.
Chopra and Nadeem started with fouls while Peters had 84.70m to Vadlejch’s 80.15m. What came next was like a bolt from the blue, Nadeem’s record-breaking 92.97m. The small band of Pakistani fans celebrated as never before in the stands as Nadeem stood for a few seconds as he walked back, leisurely, no wild celebrations, his face partly buried in his palm, taking a second to offer a prayer.
Chopra responded admirably, posting a season best 89.45m in the second round. However, much as he looked determined, much as he pumped himself up, much as he tried to salvage the situation, he could not produce the one magical moment that the large band of Indian supporters were yearning for. He, in fact, fouled his next four attempts, many of them deliberately crossing the foul-line as he found his throws were not going beyond 80 metres.
Chopra would say later that he tried to match Nadeem and felt he could also reach beyond 90.0m but his groin injury coupled with his lack of competitions weighed him down. He had appealed for funding to Nadeem when the Pakistani disclosed that he did not have money to buy a new javelin.
Nadeem had come through two surgeries last year and this year, was short of funds and competitions but once he did 86.59 in the qualification round in Paris, it became apparent the fight could be between the neighbouring countries and two friends.
“I was expecting and hoping to go further but ultimately, I am content with 92.97m as it allowed me to win the gold,” the Pakistani said.
Chopra said: “Today’s competition was really great. Arshad threw really well. Congratulations to him and his country. Second throw I believed in myself to think I can also throw that far. But in javelin, if your run up is not so good, you can’t go very far.”
Nadeem had just one competition this year before coming to Olympics, in Paris itself in the Diamond League where he finished fourth with 84.21m despite the rustiness.
Hopefully, back home, with this unprecedented success, Nadeem should get the support he richly deserved even before as the Commonwealth Games champion and World championships silver medallist, behind Chopra in Budapest.
He told the media that he had never beaten Chopra, beginning with the South Asian Games at Kathmandu in 2016 when he threw 78.33m to take the bronze behind Chopra and Sri Lankan Ranasinghe. He, however, was happy to break the streak of losses.
In men’s 4x100m heats, China won heat 2 with a time of 38.24s, with France (38.34s) and Canada (38.39s) coming behind and going through. Japan qualified for the final in heat 1, as one of the “best losers” clocking 38.06s. The heat was won by the US in 37.47s.
In women’s shot-put qualification, defending champion Gong Lijiao of China qualified despite a below-par 18.78m that gave her the fifth place overall. Team-mate Song Jiayuan (18.73m0 was also through to the final. World champion Chase Jackson (17.60m) failed to progress.
