Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem first Pakistani to directly qualify for Tokyo Olympics

Arshad Nadeem, a 23-year-old athlete, has made the nation proud after becoming the first Pakistani to directly qualify for Tokyo Olympics 2021.

The global sporting event, which was earlier scheduled to be held in July, has now been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nadeem, a javelin thrower, is a four-time national champion, and among many honours and platitudes, holds the distinction of being the sole representative from Pakistan at the World Athletics Championship at Doha, PTV Sports tweeted on Wednesday.

With a number of accolades and awards under his name, Nadeem also represented Pakistan in the 2019 South Asian Games and clinched gold with a throw of 86.29 metres, which also translated into an automatic feature in the Tokyo Olympics as he surpassed the mandatory 85 metres qualification criteria for this event, the national broadcaster notified.