Pakistan javelin star Arshad Nadeem’s coach Salman Butt remains confident that the Olympic champion can recover from his disappointing performance at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

“I hope he will stage a comeback,” Butt told The Express Tribune.

Arshad endured an unusual early exit in Glasgow, finishing ninth in the 12-man javelin competition. He failed to finish among the top eight, which meant he could not qualify for the final three attempts.

The result was particularly disappointing because Arshad entered the competition as the defending Commonwealth champion. He won gold at the 2022 Birmingham Games with a record-breaking throw of 90.18 metres.

That victory proved to be a major turning point in his career. Arshad followed it with a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships in Hungary before producing the defining performance of his career at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In Paris, he won the javelin gold medal with a Games-record throw of 92.97 metres, becoming one of Pakistan’s most successful athletes on the international stage.

His form, however, has declined since his Olympic triumph, with the Glasgow result providing the latest setback.

After returning home, Arshad attributed his performance to the cold conditions in Glasgow. He said the weather affected his body and prevented him from performing at his usual level.

The Olympic champion also appealed to his supporters to continue backing him and promised to return stronger.

Butt said he had not heard Arshad’s comments about the weather and therefore could not comment on the explanation.

The coach also declined to disclose details of Arshad’s immediate training programme, saying the plans would become clearer once the athlete returned to the gym.

“It will be seen when he gets to the gym. In two days, I will reveal all plans,” Butt said.

Arshad now has little time to dwell on the Glasgow disappointment, with two major competitions scheduled for September.

He is expected to compete at the World Ultimate Athletics Championships in Budapest from September 11 to 13 before travelling to Japan for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, scheduled from September 19 to October 4.

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The Asian Games could offer Arshad another chance to complete his collection of major continental titles.

He won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia but missed the 2023 Hangzhou edition because of injury. He has also claimed gold medals at the Islamic Games and the Asian Championships.

The upcoming competitions will therefore provide an important test of whether Arshad can regain the form that carried him to Olympic glory.

With his coach backing him for a comeback, the Pakistani star will now look to put the Glasgow disappointment behind him and rebuild momentum before the September assignments.