Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem has gone to South Africa for a training camp without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), casting questions on the arrangements made for Pakistan’s best athlete.
A source close to the PSB said Nadeem had gone to South Africa to train under coach Terseus Liebenberg ahead of two big international games next month without telling the board.
The source said: “Yes, he has not said anything, and it is a strange thing; he travelled without a NOC from PSB.”
Nadeem will be training for the World Ultimate Athletics Championship in Hungary from 11-13 September, and then the Asian Games in Japan from 19th-23rd September.
The PSB source also asked who would provide support to the athlete if they were in trouble while overseas.
As the PSB has played a pivotal role in Nadeem’s life since his historic Olympic victory in Paris, the development is also in the backdrop of the fact that he was the first individual Pakistani to win an Olympic Games medal.
The Athletics Federation of Pakistan has played a very limited role in his management, as the PSB as well as his coach Salman Butt are handling his affairs.
Nadeem’s South Africa camp comes after a disappointing performance at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he was a member of the 12-man final, finishing ninth overall and not being a part of the top eight.
His throw at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, 90.18 metres, matched his Olympic gold-medal throw of 92.97 metres in Paris, where he threw 2 metres further than at the 2022 Games, but was 2.8 metres shorter than his gold-medal bid at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Coach Liebenberg is optimistic about Nadeem’s future and is convinced that the javelin ace will regain his form, stating that he is mentally strong and he believes that the javelin star will come back to his best.
Also read: Arshad Nadeem eyes Ultimate Championship Glory after South Africa camp