Arshad Nadeem pulls out of Asian Games

Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has withdrawn from the Asian Games with a knee injury.

Nadeem was pipped to be Neeraj Chopra's main rival for the gold medal in the javelin throw finals in Hangzhou scheduled for Wednesday. However, a last-minute MRI has revealed that Nadeem is carrying a knee injury.

Nadeem's withdrawal is a major setback for Pakistan's hopes of winning a medal in Athletics at the Asian Games.

Nadeem has a season-best of 87.82 metres and was the closest competitor for Neeraj's season-best of 88.77m.

After his gold medal in the Commonwealth Games where he crossed the 90m mark, Arshad has been struggling with injuries as he missed the whole season due to his injury.

Arshad made a solid comeback at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary where he finished just behind Neeraj Chopra to win a historic first-ever medal for Pakistan at the World Championships.

With Nadeem's withdrawal, the top two javelin throwers ranked according to season best in Wednesday's final are Neeraj and Kishore Jena. A gold and silver for India in the javelin throw final is now a real possibility.

The third-best thrower according to the start list is Japan's Genki Roderick, who has an SB of 83.15 metres.

More to follow...