The sight of a bulky and out-of-shape Arshad Nadeem trying to lift himself from a stark slump in form wasn’t a pleasing sight. He was expected to finish on the podium, more so in the absence of his closest rival, India’s Neeraj Chopra.
The line-up was not a star-studded one, but sports always throw new stars as the old one fades. Sri Lanka’s newest sensation Rumesh Tharanga Pathiraga stole the show by clinching gold, while the medals of the other two hues were taken away by Indians.
While the conditions were wet after incessant rain, they were equal for all those who were in the Paloma Mizuho Sports Park in Nagoya for the javelin event. It was evident that Nadeem was not in good shape right from the get-go. He managed 76.69 meters in the first attempt but fouled on the second attempt, looking cautious and taking small steps. His best effort was 80.29 metres, while three of his other attempts were also fouls.
He presented a sorry picture after finishing medal-less and it was sad for millions of fans who had expected nothing less than a gold medal from him.
From glory to excess
Nadeem has seen a remarkable rise in the last four years. The apotheosis was reached with a gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, with a brilliant 90.18 meters throw. The whole nation erupted when the man from Mian Channu left the sporting world awestruck with an astonishing throw of 92.97 metres, which clinched the first-ever individual gold medal for Pakistan in the Olympics.
It started a celebration in Pakistan, not only for the enormity of the occasion, but also for the fact that such occasions are very rare in Pakistan sports. Arshad was showered with cash prizes and honours to the tune of Rs350 million. It was befitting but went beyond a stretch.
We overdo things and in Arshad’s case we crossed the limits. Rather than keeping things in limits, we went overboard. Sporting nations honour their heroes but make sure they do not go out of the path of achieving further successes. It would have been better had we arranged a good foreign coach for Arshad on a regular basis and gave him funds to make Germany, South Africa or Hungary base for his further training.
We have spoiled a number of sportsmen in the past. The case in point is that of boxer Meherullah Lassi. The sprightly boy from Lyari won a gold medal in the 2002 Asian Games. Meher was also showered with cash prizes rather than sending him to Cuba to achieve further glory. As a result, Meher became a bon viveur, wearing gold chains and watches, and started indulging in drugs.
He was handed a lifetime ban in 2006 after testing positive for cannabis at the South Asian Games in Colombo, his second offence in two years.
The price to complacency
Nadeem has suffered the descent, or you may call a sudden downfall, abruptly. Insiders say he was more focused on business than training. With the money in pocket, he started a multiple complex in his hometown of Mian Channu. It will house a few marriage halls, a good business in Pakistan, a restaurant and a Cineplex. He did not heed to physical fitness, leave alone the training.
Not only sport, but any other field in life comes to bite you if you don’t work hard or do not pay attention to your progress. This gives others a chance to progress, a common rule of life. There are ups and downs. A tough loss must awaken a sportsperson. A string of failures weighs heavily on anyone. If you shy away and make excuses rather than addressing your frailties, you are pushed back and back.
This has happened to Nadeem. He cribbed about the lack of funds that was haunting him in his preparations for the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo in September last year. He had the wherewithal to go to South Africa and get some good training from Terseus Liebenberg, but he preferred to be a malcontent rather than a proactive individual. Being under prepared, Arshad failed in the world event, with his best throw recorded at 82.75 metres. He fouled twice and failed to reach the last eight.
The same cribbing continued this year. Just before the Commonwealth Games, where he had to defend his title, Nadeem came a cropper in the Luzern meet in Switzerland, finishing ninth with an underwhelming throw of 78.63 metres. Rather than admitting his failure and regression, Nadeem and his coach Salman Butt blamed wet conditions in Switzerland as the cause of his slump.
Entering the Commonwealth Games, Arshad had high hopes, but form and a golden throw continued to elude him. With a poor throw of 77.41 metres, he came a poor ninth. Yet again, he and his coach found a pretext and blamed the windy conditions.
While his diehard fans continued to support Nadeem, detractors trolled him. Just ahead of the Asian Games, he tried his luck in the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary. There was some improvement as he finished fifth with a throw of 81.49 metres.
Fortunes did not change for him in Japan. He looked out of sorts and was not able to compete.
A champion must rise
Nadeem’s mentor — Brigadier (retd) Akram Sahi, a former president of the Pakistan Athletics Federation — has been criticising the champion for being ransacked by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). It is a classic case of the saying, “Victory has many fathers, while defeat is an orphan.” “
Ever since Nadeem won the Olympic medal, the Pakistan Sports Board has taken control of Nadeem,” Sahi said. “His coach [Salman Butt] is a Youtuber and is not a proper coach who is the reason behind his failures,” he added.
Butt is a former discus thrower who is not adept at coaching a javelin thrower. PSB has to address this.
Nadeem is a champion. He must be given the resources to regain his lost touch. He himself needs to realise his shortcomings and stop relying on pretexts. He has to defend his Olympic title in 2028, which should be his target. It will be now or never for him. He should not be lost, like Meher and many others in the past.
