Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem clinched gold in the men’s javelin throw at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025, held in Gumi, South Korea, on Saturday — a contest marked by the absence of India’s Neeraj Chopra.

Nadeem, who had stunned the athletics world with a historic 92.97m throw at the Paris Olympics to win gold, stamped his authority yet again with a best throw of 86.4 metres, sealing the top podium spot in his very first competition of the season.

His winning effort came from his third attempt.

India’s Sachin Yadav settled for silver, finishing second with a throw just 1.24 metres short of Nadeem’s.

Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama bagged bronze with a personal best of 83.75 metres.

Yadav’s compatriot Yashvir Singh registered his personal best of 82.57 metres and secured a fifth-place finish.

Nadeem’s coach, Salman Butt, praised the athlete’s performance and highlighted the challenging schedule of the event.

“It was a good performance, especially since this was his first competition of the season,” he told Dawn. “If there had been one day of rest between [yesterday’s] heats and finals, he would have had more recovery and a better throw. But this is a good start,” he added.

India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra had opted out of the continental championship to focus on his commitments in the Diamond League.

Chopra had recently participated in both the Diamond League and the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, finishing second in both.

His season highlight remains the Doha Diamond League meet, where he breached the 90-metre mark with a throw of 90.23 metres.

Chopra’s absence in Gumi paved the way for Nadeem’s dominant win.

The two athletes have developed a storied rivalry in recent years, with Nadeem having bested Chopra at the Paris Olympics — a performance that earned the Pakistani thrower Olympic gold, while Chopra settled for silver with a throw of 89.45 metres.