Salman Iqbal, the coach of Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, has strongly defended his ward in response to the Pakistan Sports Board’s (PSB) demand for an explanation following the javelin thrower’s 10th-place finish at the World Championships in Tokyo.

The state-run PSB asked Iqbal to give an explanation for Nadeem’s performance and also a run-down on his training schedules and money spent on him. Arshad finished 10th in the 12-man final, settling for a best effort of 82.75m in the final after having struggled in the qualification.

Iqbal, in his sharp reply sent to the PSB, reminded that every top athlete goes through a bad patch and can have a lean period now and then.

Iqbal revealed in his response to the PSB how the Pakistan Amateur Athletics Federation has totally disassociated itself from Nadeem’s training and campaigns for the last year or more.

“Arshad’s performance was hampered by the surgery he underwent for his calf muscle problem and in Tokyo the track was hard and the weather hot and humid and this affected performances of many athletes in different events,” Iqbal said in his reply.

He also wrote that when the entire country can rejoice Nadeem’s achievements he also needs to be supported if for once he has not come up to the expectations.

Iqbal reminded the PSB that he had to seek the help of one of his close friends to set up a training and rehabilitation program for Nadeem in South Africa after his injury.

The dejected coach also revealed that his friend also provided financial support, an astonishing claim because Nadeem since 2022 has brought numerous pride and honour for the country by winning the gold medal at the last Paris Olympics in 2024, gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships.

Besides these international achievements, Nadeem also comfortably won the Javelin gold in the Asian Athletics Championships this year.

His rivalry with India’s Neeraj Chopra has boosted the profile and interest in athletics in both countries and incidentally Chopra also had a below average campaign in Tokyo during the Worlds.

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