Sports Desk
Tokyo: Pakistani Javelin Thrower Arshad Nadeem is confident with his preparations and eyes a medal in Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Speaking to reporters via an online link, Nadeem said he got enough time to prepare for his competition on August 4. “My preparations are in full swing and I am getting enough time here with international athletes. I am confident to win a medal here and fulfill the expectations of Pakistanis for a medal, pray for me,” he said.
His coach Fayyaz Bukhari sees different Nadeem this time around as the athlete got immense time to train with international athletes. “His throw practice is going well and I hope he can maximize his throw. I haven’t seen him the way he looks right now after training here. Prayers are needed and he will try his best to win the medal,” he concluded.
It must be noted here that Nadeem will participate in the Javelin Throw Group stage at 5:05 am/6:35 am (PST) on August 4. If he qualifies, then the final is on August 7.
Pakistan haven’t bagged any medal yet in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics 2020. Weightlifter Talha Talib was the prominent performer from Pakistan so far as he narrowly missed a Bronze, finishing at fifth with 320kg. The Bronze was bagged at 322Kg.
Djokovic cruises past Nishikori and into Olympic semis
Novak Djokovic eased into the Tokyo Olympics men’s tennis semi-finals on Thursday with a straight-sets thrashing of Japanese hope Kei Nishikori. The world number one, chasing a calendar Golden Grand Slam, ended home interest in the tennis with a ruthless 6-2, 6-0 victory in only 70 minutes.
Djokovic has never won the Olympic singles title, with a bronze medal in 2008 his best result at the Games, but will face either Alexander Zverev or Jeremy Chardy in the last four.
The 34-year-old Serb, who has already captured the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this season, was never in trouble against Nishikori, who made 16 unforced errors.
The former world number four did save two match points in the final game, but Djokovic made no mistake on the next opportunity.
China’s Ma makes history with table tennis men’s singles Gold
Ma Long did it again. The table tennis star retained his Olympic crown in the men’s singles after defeating world No. 1 Fan Zhendong 4-2 in an all-Chinese final at the Tokyo Olympic Games here on Friday.
Ma became the first male paddler to have won the Olympic gold in the singles event twice after Rio 2016, and the first man to win major titles, namely the Olympic Games, the World Championships and the World Cup, multiple times in history.
“Meeting in the final means both of us have reached our goal, and the gold medal belongs to the whole team,” said Ma, attributing his win to a stable mindset of just enjoying the game against one of the world class players.
“Maybe it’s the only match that I don’t feel pressure,” added the 32-year-old.
In their third straight encounter in major international tournaments, after the ITTF World Cup and the ITTF Finals in November last year, Ma eventually came out as the winner at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
