Winning an honorary membership from the Cambridge University Sports Centre has only added to Arshad Nadeem’s motivation to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
The 25-year-old javelin thrower from Pakistan, who is currently training at the facility under the supervision of Pakistan-origin Dr. Ali Sher Bajwa ahead of his event on Aug. 5 at the Birmingham Games, said, “It has boosted my morale further and added to my motivation before the competition.”
Arshad, who last year became the first athlete from Pakistan to qualify for a track and field final at the Olympics in Tokyo, heads into the Commonwealth Games with significant momentum after a fifth-place finish in the javelin event of the World Athletics Championship in the United States last week.
However, he will not have his coach Salman Butt with him in Birmingham, as the Pakistan Olympic Association was unable to get his accreditation made in time after a delay on the part of the Pakistan Sports Board in sending the required documents.
While other coaches have been forced to Train their athletes Virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Salman has been holding training sessions online and said that Arshad’s chances of winning a medal have increased significantly with Indian Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra withdrawing from the Games due to injury.
“It’s difficult as you can only view a limited plan of his movements virtually but somehow we are managing,” Salman told reporters on Friday.
“On current form, only world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada [ who won in Oregon with a throw over 90 metres ] stands
It is paramount that Arshad competes in the Birmingham games, as he is the only one out of the top four World Championship contenders who will be present.
With this in mind, Salman is confident that Arshad will return with a medal, even though he is nursing an elbow injury. Arshad’s x-rays and scans came back clear, but he will continue to get check-ups to make sure his elbow pain does not worsen.
