Arshad Nadeem 4th at Asian Games with 80.29m as Pathirage wins javelin gold

Updated Monday 28 September 2026, 6:55pm PKT. Arshad Nadeem finished fourth in the men's javelin final at the Asian Games in Nagoya on Monday, with a best of 80.29m. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage won gold with 88.55m on his sixth and last throw, and India took silver and bronze. Pakistan's second thrower, Muhammad Yasir, was ninth with 73.50m and did not make the last eight.

The final was thrown in heavy rain on a slippery runway at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, starting at 4:15pm Pakistan time.

Result: men's javelin final

Arshad's six throws

Three straight fouls in the last three rounds ended any chance of a late medal. He finished 4.06m short of bronze and 8.26m short of gold, and 12.68m below the 92.97m Olympic record he set in Paris in 2024, which is still the Asian record.

Why it went this way

This has been a hard season for the Olympic champion. He was ninth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and fifth at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest before coming to Japan, according to Dawn. Pathirage, 23, came in as world number one with a 92.62m world lead and has won 11 of his 12 competitions this year. Neeraj Chopra, India's Olympic and world champion, missed the Games injured.

For Pakistan the result keeps the medal count at four bronzes and no gold, with hockey, men's cricket and volleyball still to come.

What's next for Pakistan at the Games

• Hockey: Pakistan beat Oman 7-2 on Monday, finished second in Pool B and play India in the semi-final on Thursday 1 October.
• Cricket: the men play their semi-final on Thursday 1 October at 5am PKT after Monday's washout against Hong Kong.
• Volleyball: three straight sets against Uzbekistan on Monday; hosts Japan are next on Tuesday.

Every fixture, result and the medal table, in Pakistan time: Pakistan at the Asian Games 2026. Cricket times are on our Asian Games cricket schedule.

Before the final

The men's javelin was a direct final: 14 throwers and no qualifying round. Arshad came in with the Asian record of 92.97m but a 2026 best of 81.49m, per Olympics.com. The Asian Games record of 89.15m, set by China's Zhao Qinggang in 2014, survived.

Watching the rest of the Games

Tamasha carries the Asian Games in Pakistan. Streaming on mobile data eats a bundle quickly: our mobile load tax calculator shows how much of a recharge reaches your balance after tax, and our Tamasha guide explains how to watch.