Pakistani Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem cleared the qualifying round in the men’s javelin throw on Monday, the seventh day of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with a seasonal best score.

The 29-year-old Arshad, who won the javelin throw gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a record throw of 90.18 metres, is participating in the 2026 Games being held in Scotland from July 23-Aug 2.

The qualifying round, which was held earlier today, saw Arshad throw his season’s best of 78.63 metres, securing his spot in the final event in seventh place.

The men’s javelin throw final will be held tomorrow (Friday) from 6:30pm to 10:15pm local time (10:30pm to 2:15am PKT).

Last year, Arshad was named the Global Breakthrough Athlete at the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sports Awards during the World Sports Summit in December.

However, he made an underwhelming return to competition earlier this month ahead of the Glasgow games, finishing ninth in the javelin throw at the Spitzen Leicht­athletik Luzern meeting in Switzerland on July 16.

Competing in the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event, his best effort was 78.47 metres, recorded with his final throw. His series read: X, 74.87m, 73.26m, X, 73.39m and 78.47m.

Speaking after his final training session at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore before departing for both events, Arshad said he had prepared well for the Commonwealth Games.

However, he faces tough competition in the Glasgow final, with India’s Neeraj Chopra and Rohit Yadav, as well as Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga, qualifying alongside him. Tharanga currently sits atop today’s rankings with an 82.84m throw.

Also competing in the event was Muhammad Yasir, who threw his season’s best of 74.36m but failed to make the top 12 qualifiers, finishing in 14th place.

At last year’s Asian Throwing Championships, the Yasir threw a massive 77.43m on his sixth and final attempt, snagging a bronze medal and smashing his previous season’s best.

In his comments earlier this month, Arshad recalled memories of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and acknowledged the pressure he felt to live up to his accolades.

“Four years after I broke the Commonwealth Games record in 2022, I remain in the same position,” the star athlete said. “There is also pressure [on me] … I have been the champion for four years and now I will need to again do well [to retain the title].”

“There is always pressure while entering the field … that pressure has to be controlled.”