Pakistan’s ace javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem booked his place in the men’s final of the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo on Wednesday, raising hopes of another podium finish.
The athlete qualified for the javelin final with an 85.28m throw in his third and final attempt, having thrown 74.17m in the second and 76.99m in the first attempt.
He will now join some of the world’s best in the medal round on Thursday.
From his group, Anderson Peters (85.96m) and Julius Yego (89.53m) also advanced, while Curtis Thompson, who opened with 77.97m, booked his spot with a later throw of 84.72m.
Meanwhile, India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist, needed just one throw to progress.
He cleared the automatic qualification mark of 84.50m with a first-attempt throw of 84.85m at the Tokyo National Stadium, setting the tone in Group A.
The reigning Olympic gold medallist from Group B also qualified in style with an impressive 86.56m throw, building on his record-breaking 92.97m effort that earned him gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Currently ranked world No. 2, Chopra remains one of the top contenders. His personal best of 90.23m — also the Indian national record — was set earlier this year at the Doha Diamond League.
Germany’s Julian Weber, the current world No. 1, recovered from a poor first attempt to register 87.21m and book his spot, while Poland’s Dawid Wegner achieved a personal best of 85.67m.
India’s Sachin Yadav narrowly missed direct qualification with a strong 83.67m, finishing sixth in Group A, and now awaits confirmation depending on Group B results.
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch (84.11m) and Olympic medallist Keshorn Walcott (83.93m) also remain in contention.
In total, 12 athletes out of 37 will advance to the final — those surpassing the automatic qualifying mark move through directly, while the remaining slots are filled by the best performances.
At the last World Championships in Budapest in 2023, Neeraj Chopra made history by becoming India’s first world champion in athletics with a throw of 88.17m, while Arshad Nadeem claimed silver with 87.82m.
The tables turned at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where Nadeem triumphed with gold, leaving Chopra to settle for silver.
