LAHORE: Arshad Nadeem’s coach Salman Butt has referred to a pain in the calf as the reason for the Olympic javelin champion’s below-par performance at last month’s World Athletics Championship in Tokyo.

Arshad ended 10th in the javelin final and the Athletics Federation of Pakistan had sought an explanation from Salman.

In his reply to the AFP, Salman said that it was due to the heat and humidity in the Japanese capital as well as a calf pain that Arshad couldn’t perform up to his usual standards.

Salman did not answer most of the other questions posed by the AFP but said the federation, which had appointed him as Arshad’s coach, had maintained no contact with the athlete since his record-breaking effort secured gold at last year’s Paris Olympics.

He further added that he will continue as long as Arshad wanted him to remain his coach.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2025