At the Islamic Solidarity Games, Muhammad Yasir won silver for Pakistan and Arshad Nadeem defends the gold

At the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Pakistan dominated the men's javelin throw final, with Muhammad Yasir winning silver and Arshad Nadeem predictably defending his gold medal.

With a lifetime best of 92.97 meters, which earned him gold and the games record at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Arshad was far ahead of the competition going into the seven-man competition.

He led from the beginning, as was to be expected, and was the only participant to throw more than 80 meters. The commentators gave him a lot of Arabic acclaim, but he appeared unhappy after the majority of his throws.

On his second attempt, the 28-year-old won gold with a modest throw of 83.05 meters, which was significantly less than his previous gold-winning throw of 88.55 meters, which broke the game's record.

A group of people from Prince Faisal Bin Stadium were gathered behind the javelin throwing area, waving Pakistani flags and raising their phones to take pictures of the javelin stars in action.

Before surpassing the 80-meter mark on his second and third throws, Arshad began his campaign with a dismal 75.44-meter first toss. But by his fourth throw, he had returned to 77.06 meters, and on his fifth try, he failed to throw.
Before making his sixth and last throw, he turned to the crowd with his javelin in hand and used rhythmic applause above his head to control the throng.

His standings were unaffected by the 77.98-meter final throw; after securing his gold medal by bending to the ground in prostration, he shook hands with the other throwers and zipped up their tracksuit jackets in the cool 20-degree temperature the capital had to offer.

As the six-foot-two star athlete made his way to coach Salman Butt in the stands, excited supporters flocked to grab photographs with him.
The 27-year-old recorded modest throws of 70.32m, 74.43m, 72.82m, 73.78m, and 71.79m to secure a bronze medal right from the first throw, however Yasir's dream of an 80m plus throw will have to wait until next year.

But with a final throw of 76.04m, he easily won silver from Nigeria's Kure, giving Pakistan a one-two finish.


Leslain Alvino Baird of Guyana, Sarvar Ismoilov of Uzbekistan, Abdulrahman Alazemi of Jordan, and Ali Al Abdulghani of the host country, who placed eighth, were among the other contestants of the evening.

Speaking after the tournament, Arshad claimed that he won the gold medal today thanks to the nation's prayers.
"I'm thrilled that I received this recognition shortly after my injury. After being preoccupied with my injuries, surgery, and recuperation, I am now concentrating on getting ready for competitions in 2026.

"I congratulate the country on this victory and thank God for allowing me to return to this level of fitness."


At the Asian Throwing Championships in South Korea this August, Yasir won a bronze medal with a throw of 77.43 meters, which was not too far from his season and personal best.
The two last competed together in May at the Asian Athletic Championships in Gumi, South Korea, when Yasir finished eighth with a throw of 75.39 meters and Arshad won gold in 86.40 meters.

Arshad made his third trip abroad so far this year. Due to calf discomfort, which required surgery over the summer, he finished in 10th position at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships.


For the majority of track and field athletes whose season concluded in Tokyo, the games in Riyadh were an exception. This year, the Diamond League circuit was modified to conclude prior to the world championships.