Pakistan athlete Arshad Nadeem secured a spot in the Olympic javelin final with an impressive 86.59-metre throw during Tuesday’s qualifier at the Stade de France. His performance, a season-best, placed him fourth heading into the finals.

Nadeem earned the qualification in his first attempt as he nailed an 86.59m throw, while 84 meters was the criteria for the athletes to advance into the final round of the event.

India’s Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic and world champion, led the qualifiers with a massive 89.34m throw, also a season-best. Grenada’s Anderson Peters and Germany’s Julian Weber followed with throws of 88.63m and 87.76m, respectively, securing their spots in the final.

Kenya’s Rio 2016 silver medalist ranked fifth with an 85.97m throw while Brazil’s Luiz Maurício da Silva set a personal best and broke the South American record with an 85.91m throw, placing sixth. Czech athlete Jakub Vadlejch secured the seventh spot with an 85.63m throw, and Finland’s Toni Keranen, in his Olympic debut, ranked eighth with a personal best of 85.27m.

Moldova’s Andrian Mardare rounded out the top nine with an 84.13m throw, also a season-best, as the athletes head into Thursday night’s finals.

Nadeem and Chopra have developed a healthy rivalry over the years. Pakistan’s athlete’s best effort of 90.18m in the 2022 Commonwealth Games is ahead of Neeraj’s top effort.

“I want to earn a good name for Pakistan at the Olympics and very much hopeful in the final round as well,” he told reporters after the event in Paris.

Pakistan top’s athlete went on to describe Chopra as his “good friend” and hoped that both of them would make their country proud in the mega event. “Everyone tries to perform well whenever there is a big competition. We focus on the final round. I am very hopeful that I will give a good result in the final.”

On the other hand, Chopra said that Nadeem also qualified for the final on his first attempt. “My all focus is on the javelin throw final as I worked hard for the event.”

When asked, he said: “Whoever performs well in the final round will win the medal.”

In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Nadeem on qualifying for the javelin throw final.

“Arshad Nadeem has won the hearts of the entire nation with his outstanding performance and hard work,” he said and prayed for his success in the Olympics 2024.

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On Sunday, Pakistani sharpshooter GM Bashir failed to qualify for the final round of the shooting competitions at the Olympic Games in Paris. Bashir scored 581 points in the qualifications, finishing 15th and missing out on the final by just four points. The cutoff score to make the final was 585.28 points.

Last week, Pakistan’s sole female Olympic marksman, Kishmala Talat, was eliminated from the event after finishing 22nd in the Women’s 25m Pistol event. Her compatriot Faiqa Riaz also failed to progress in her competitions.

The final of the javelin throw event at the Paris 2024 Olympics would be played on August 8. Pakistan hasn’t won a medal in the Olympics for 32 years. The last feat came in the summer of 1992 in Barcelona.