Javelin star Arshad Nadeem and compatriot Muhammad Yasir on Friday qualified for the finals of the Asian Athletics Championships, months after the former made the country proud with his historic win at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

On Thursday, Arshad had said that he was preparing to participate and secure a win in the tournament. More than 2000 athletes from 43 countries are competing at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships, taking place in South Korea.

The Mian Channu-born elite athlete cruised into the final with an 86.34m throw on his first and only attempt in the A Qualification round.

He will be joined by Yasir who qualified for the finals with a 76.07m throw in the B Qualification round.

Arshad leads the 21-member field, followed by Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage with an 83.71m throw, and Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama with an 81.36m throw. Yasir heads into the final ranked ninth.

Arshad took to Instagram today to announce his entry into the final.

“Alhamdulillah qualified this morning for the final competition tomorrow afternoon [May 31] at 1:10pm PKT at the Asian Championships.

“As always I would need your support and prayers,” he said.

Earlier in the week, Pakistan’s fastest female sprinter Tameem Khan finished 17th in the Women’s 100m heats with a 12.14.

Meanwhile, top sprinter Shajar Abbas ran a 47.17 in the Men’s 400m heats, and a 47.38 in the semi-finals, where he finished 12th. Compatriot Abdul Mueed ran a 50.10 in the heats and finished 27th.

In August last year, Nadeem set a new Olympic record and won a gold medal in the men’s javelin final in Paris with a 92.97m throw.

Nadeem will soon be going to England to prepare for September’s World Athletics Championships.