Pakistan’s defending champion and Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem suffered an early exit from the men’s javelin throw final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after he failed to finish among the top eight after the opening three rounds.

Nadeem, who claimed Commonwealth gold in 2022 with a record-breaking throw of 90.18 metres, endured a disappointing title defence from the outset.

The 29-year-old opened the final with a foul before managing only 77.41 metres on his second attempt, leaving him ninth in the standings.

Needing a significant improvement to break into the top eight and earn three additional throws, Nadeem could only register 75.61 metres on his third attempt, ending his campaign in ninth place and ruling him out of medal contention.

His early elimination capped a difficult competition after he had also struggled in the qualification round, where he finished seventh with a best throw of 78.63 metres.

None of the competitors reached the automatic qualification mark of 84 metres during qualifying, with the 12 athletes recording the longest throws progressing to the final.

Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage topped the qualification standings with 82.84 metres, followed by Grenada’s Anderson Peters (81.29m) and South Africa’s Douw Smit (80.64m).

Pakistan’s Yasir Sultan failed to qualify for the final after finishing 14th with a best throw of 74.36 metres.

In the final, Sri Lanka’s Pathirage clinched the gold medal with a superb second-round throw of 89.75 metres.

Although his remaining five attempts were all fouls, his winning effort proved enough to secure the title.

India’s Neeraj Chopra took the silver medal with a season-best throw of 85.83 metres, while compatriot Yash Vir Singh claimed bronze after producing an impressive final-round effort of 85.41 metres.