LAHORE: Javelin star Arshad Nadeem will train in Germany ahead of next year’s Olympics in Paris, where he will look to end Pakistan’s 32-year medal drought at the Games.
Addressing a news conference alongside Athletics Federation of Pakistan Akram Sahi on Friday, Arshad — who won silver at last month’s World Athletics Championship — said he will try to do his best but bemoaned the lack of facilities available in the country.
“Unfortunately, there is no training facility of international standard in Pakistan,” he said. “The government should take steps towards developing them.”
The 25-year-old was awarded a cash prize of Rs3million by Wahab Riaz, the caretaker Provincial Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs in Punjab, on Thursday for his feat in Budapest, where he was just 35 centimetres away from winning gold.
“My next target is win gold at this month’s Asian Games [in China],” said Arshad, who will be jostling with India’s Neeraj Chopra for a spot at the top of the podium.
But he said he’s only “competing with myself”. “It reduces the pressure to perform,” he added.
Sahi said the AFP was also preparing Mohammad Yasir, who won javelin bronze at the Asian Athletics Championship in July, for the future and informed sprinter Shajar Abbas will train in Jamaica for the Olympics.
“When I assumed the role of AFP president in 2011, I laid out the ‘Vision 2023’,” he said. “Today, our athletic prowess is being recognised on the global stage, and I aspire for the day when we will proudly raise Pakistan’s flag and have our national anthem resonate worldwide.”
But he added that the government needs to do its bit to help aspiring athletes.
“There is a lot of talent in Pakistan and all we need is to channelise all the available resources in a better way to help them perform well at international level,” he said.
Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2023