Neeraj Chopra's Pakistan rival Arshad Nadeem to undergo knee surgery for Olympics quest

Star Pakistan javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has travelled to the United Kingdom to undergo knee surgery with the intention of regaining complete fitness ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Nadeem missed the Asian Games last year in Hangzhou, China, after a recurring knee injury became a hindrance for him. He was one of the contenders to Indian ace Neeraj Chopra for the gold medal but pulled out of the competition on the eve of his event, citing a lack of fitness.

Despite trying a few rehabilitation programs, the 27-year-old Pakistani athlete couldn't materialize his recovery. He will go under the knife to overcome his issues and is hopeful of returning to track ahead of the Paris Olympics, which is just less than six months away.

​

"I have decided to have the knee surgery now because it has been bothering me a lot since last year, and I tried rehab programs, but they didn’t work," Arshad was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

---

Arshad Nadeem's Commonwealth Games gold makes him a favorite in Pakistan

Arshad Nadeem won a gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 with a record-breaking throw of 90.18m. He became the first athlete from the sub-continent to cross the 90m barricade, something even Olympics and World gold medallist Neeraj Chopra is yet to achieve in his career.

Neeraj and Arshad finished first and second on the podium, respectively, during the World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary, last year in August. While Neeraj's best throw was 88.17m, his Pakistan counterpart wasn't far away with 87.82m to bag the silver.

Arshad Nadeem finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics with a final throw of 86.1m. Neeraj, on the other, hand scripted history to become the first track and field athlete from the country to win a medal - the gold was the top honors - with an 87.58m exuberant throw.

​

​