Pakistan’s Yasir Sultan set for Asian throwing championship 2025

LAHORE: Pakistan’s javelin thrower Yasir Sultan will represent the country at the Asian throwing championship 2025, scheduled to be held in South Korea from August 21 to 22.

Yasir will be Pakistan’s sole participant at the event and will compete in the javelin throw category. He will be accompanied by national coach Fayyaz Bukhari during the competition.

The young thrower has already made his mark at the continental level, winning a silver medal in the same championship last year. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s star javelin thrower and Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem will not feature in the championship. 

Arshad is currently in rehabilitation phase following surgery and is yet to regain full fitness. He underwent successful surgery on his calf muscles last month in Cambridge.

He will not be participating in the upcoming Poland and Switzerland Diamond League.

Although the initial recovery has gone well, his medical team has advised against an early return to competitive action. As a result, he will not be taking part in any competitions in the immediate future.

His rehabilitation phase has begun and as per doctors' advice, he has started light exercises and gym sessions, which are part of his rehab process.

For the unversed, Arshad was scheduled to participate in the Diamond League in Silesia, Poland on August 16, followed by another tournament in Zurich, Switzerland on August 27.

However, due to his ongoing rehabilitation, he will be unable to compete in these two marquee championships.

Arshad captured global attention last year when he shattered the Olympic javelin record with a remarkable throw of 92.97 metres at the Paris Olympics and clinched the coveted gold medal.

Stretching his dominance, Arshad produced a similar outcome at the Asian Athletics Championship last month by securing the gold medal with an 86.40-meter throw.

Nadeem first shot to fame with his gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and he followed it up with a silver at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

He has won four golds, one silver and four bronze medals in various events so far, including the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Islamic Solidarity Games, South Asian Games and Asian U20 Championships.