Commonwealth Games 2022 Archives

Arshad Nadeem defies injury to bag historic gold for Pakistan in CWG 2022

BIRMINGHAM: National athlete and Olympian Arshad Nadeem shone at the final of the Javelin throw despite the injury to claim a historic gold medal for Pakistan in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

Arshad, who earned the direct qualification to the finals of the Javelin throw, set a new record to claim a historic gold medal for Pakistan.

The star athlete, coping with an elbow and knee injury, stunned his competitors with a national and Commonwealth Games record throw of 90.18 metres.

Arshad succeeded to throw at 86.81 in his first attempt in the final, which was his career-best throw and a new national record for Pakistan until his fifth attempt at the event.

In his third attempt, Arshad bettered his newly-set record as he threw at 88 metres. However, remained unable to carry the same momentum in his fourth as he could only amass 85.70 metres.

Following his slump, Arshad’s opponent Anderson Peters managed to dethrone the former from the top position in the standings as he threw 88.64 metres.

Arshad, however, did not hold back and stunned his competitor with an astounding throw of 90.18 metres and yet again bettered his own record to get his hands on the Commonwealth Games gold.

It is worth noting that Arshad is Pakistan’s first gold medalist in Commonwealth Games athletics since 1962.

Furthermore, the 25-year-old athlete is the second gold medalist for Pakistan in the ongoing Games after weightlifter Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt.

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‘Worked hard despite elbow and knee injury’ says Arshad before CWG final

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan’s ace athlete Arshad Nadeem seemed hopeful for another sensational performance in today’s action-packed men’s javelin throw final in the Commonwealth Games 2022.

In a video message ahead of today’s final, Arshad stated that he would try his best to produce an exceptional performance in the contest and urged the whole nation to pray for his success.

The 25-year-old javelin star will be seen in action today alongside 12 other competitors in the final including the two-times World Athletics Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago.

“I have worked hard for the event despite the elbow and knee injury. I will try my best to perform well in today’s final,” he said.

“People of Pakistan have always showered love on me and I ask them to pray for me today as well” he added.

It is worth mentioning here that Arshad created history for Pakistan as he became the first athlete from the country to reach a final at World Athletics Championships. Whereas, he finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics last year.

READ: ‘If I have to go through this pain again for Pakistan, I won’t hesitate’ Akhtar

Sharif Tahir bags third silver for Pakistan in CWG Wrestling

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistani wrestler Muhammad Sharif Tahir missed out on gold as he lost to India’s Naveen Naveen in the final bout of the Men’s Freestyle 74kg category finishing with a silver medal in the Wrestling event of the Commonwealth Games 2022, here on Saturday.

With the defeat, Sharif joined the likes of Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar, two other compatriots who claimed a silver medal for Pakistan in the competition.

India’s Naveen stunned Sharif with his moves and scored nine straight technical points to secure gold for his country in the action-packed final bout between the arch-rival wrestlers.

Earlier in the semifinal, Sharif pounded New Zealand’s Cole Hawkins by 11-0 to qualify for the final.

As a result, Pakistan’s overall medal tally in the Commonwealth Games has risen to seven, with three bronze, three silver, and the lone gold by weightlifter Nooh Dastgir Butt.

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India stun England in a thriller to qualify for CWG 2022 Final

BIRMINGHAM: Left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana shone with a blistering half-century before the bowlers held their nerves calm to hand India a thrilling victory over the hosts England in the first semi-final of Commonwealth Games 2022.

Following their victory over the tournament’s favourites England in the semi-final, India have confirmed at least a silver medal in the ongoing Games.

The Asian side will compete in the gold medal bout tomorrow and await either New Zealand or Australia in the final.

In the match, left-handed opener Mandhana led the way with a quickfire half-century while Jemimah Rodrigues chipped in with an unbeaten 44 to aid India to a competitive total of 164/5 in the allotted 20 overs.

Mandhana top-scored with 61 off 32 balls, laced with eight boundaries and three sixes, while Rodrigues scored 44 off 31 deliveries including seven boundaries.

For England, Freya Kemp was the pick amongst the bowlers as she claimed two wickets, while Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver made one scalp each.

Set to chase 165, the hosts of the Games England, fell just four runs short of the victory as they could score 160/6 in the allotted overs.

The hosts batters displayed a dismal start right from the start as the openers failed to provide a solid foundation, while the middle-order remained a touch too slow in the proceedings, costing England to keep their gold expedition alive.

English skipper Sciver top-scored for the side with 41, however, faced 43 deliveries in course of her defending knock. Wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones, on the other hand, followed back with 31 off 24 deliveries but remained unlucky as she lost her wicket in a run-out.

Sneh Rana shone with the ball for India, taking two wickets and bowling a brilliant final over, defending 14 runs, while Deepti Sharma struck out a batter.

READ: Sharif downs New Zealand’s Hawkins, inches closer to gold in CWG

Sharif downs New Zealand’s Hawkins, inches closer to gold in CWG

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan wrestler Sharif Tahir has moved one victory away from claiming a gold medal in the Men’s Freestyle 74kg Wrestling in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

Young wrestler Sharif displayed sheer dominance over his New Zealand opponent Cole Hawkins and qualified for the final of the 74kg category.

In a one-sided semi-final, Sharif kept Hawkins on the back for the majority of the clash before running away with a consolidating 11-0 victory.

Following his qualification for the gold medal bout, Sharif has confirmed at least a silver medal for Pakistan.

Other national wrestlers Ali Asad and Tayab Raza, on the other hand, failed to produce a similar outcome in their respective semi-finals as they suffered crushing defeats from Indian and Canadian opponents respectively. The two wrestlers will now compete for the Bronze medal in the third-place clash.

As a result, Pakistan’s overall medal tally has risen to six as national wrestlers Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar earlier bagged a silver apiece, while Judo player Shah Hussain Shah and wrestler Inayatullah bagged a bronze each. Weightlifter Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt, on the other hand, thus remained the only gold medalist for Pakistan in the ongoing games.

READ: Sharif, Ali qualify for CWG Wrestling semi-finals in respective categories

Sharif thrashes Vake to storm into CWG Wrestling quarter-final

BIRMINGHAM: National wrestler Muhammad Sharif Tahir outclassed his Tonga opponent John Vake in the Men’s Freestyle 74kg Round of 16 Wrestling event in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

In a one-sided Round of 16 clash, Sharif pounded on his Tonga opponent and handed him a crushing 11-0 defeat.

Following this resounding victory, Sharif has moved a step closer to his medal expedition as he booked a quarter-final spot.

Other wrestlers Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar claimed a silver each in the 86kg and 125kg respectively on Friday, while Inayatullah bagged a bronze in the 65kg category.

Following the wrestlers’ remarkable performance in the Games on Friday, Pakistan’s medal tally has risen to five. Earlier, Shah Hussain Shah claimed bronze in Judo, while Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt remained the only athlete thus far to claim Gold in the ongoing global event.

READ: ‘International training would benefit me’ CWG silver medalist Zaman Anwar

‘International training would benefit me’ CWG silver medalist Zaman Anwar

BIRMINGHAM: National wrestler and a silver medalist in the Men’s Freestyle 125kg Wrestling in the Commonwealth Games 2022, Zaman Anwar claimed that international-level training would help him.

Zaman, who lost the gold medal match to Canada’s Amarveer Dhesi, spoke with this reporter on the sidelines of the ongoing games and lamented the absence of international training opportunities.

“I’m gutted on not being able to win the gold but I’m thankful to Almighty Allah for competing in the final. My opponent was an Olympian but the match remained quite competitive,” Zaman stated.

“I was well prepared but it would have been beneficial to have international style training. The rival players get international training while we get up from our homes and come to compete,” he lamented.

The finalist of the 125 kg wrestling then went on to mention his Indian counterpart and asserted that they train in foreign countries which helped them shine on the international stage.

“International training is very important. Indian players trained in Kazakhstan and Australia,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that national wrestler Zaman suffered a frustrating 2-9 defeat in the gold medal bout of the 125kg at the hands of Amarveer and secured silver.

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Zaman loses to Canada’s Dhesi, bags second silver for Pakistan in CWG

BIRMINGHAM: National wrestler Zaman Anwar suffered a frustrating defeat in the gold medal bout of the 125kg of the Men’s Freestyle 86kg Wrestling in the ongoing Commonwealth Games as he lost to Canada’s Amarveer Dhesi.

Zaman, who was off to a dream start to his Commonwealth Games campaign had a drastically opposite conclusion, as he suffered a crushing 2-9 defeat in the final round.

The one-sided final was majorly dominated by Amarveer who later thrashed Zaman to claim a gold medal for his country, while Zaman bagged a silver.

Earlier, Zaman defeated England’s Mandhir Kooner 5-0 to qualify for the final and set up a final bout with the Canadian wrestler.

Besides Zaman, another national wrestler Inam Butt has already claimed a silver medal in the ongoing games after losing to India’s Deepak Poonia 3-0.

His compatriot Inayatullah, on the other hand, thrashed Scotland’s Ross Connelly to seal the second bronze for Pakistan. National weightlifter Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt thus far remained the only athlete to hand Pakistan a gold medal in the ongoing global event.

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Inam loses to Indian opponent, bags silver in CWG Wrestling

BIRMINGHAM: National wrestler Inam Butt failed to continue his exceptional performance in the gold medal bout of the Men’s Freestyle 86kg Wrestling in the ongoing Commonwealth Games as he lost to India’s Deepak Punia.

The one-sided Indo-Pak final produced an entirely different outcome, with Inam on the losing side as India’s Poonia thrashed the former 3-0.

In an enduring final, Poonia kept Inam at the bay for the majority of the clash before running away with the victory and shattering the latter’s hope of claiming his second consecutive gold medal.

In the gold medal match, Inam appeared oblivious to Poonia’s attacking strategy, which put the latter on the back foot for the majority of the match.

Following him losing in the final, Inam, however, claimed the first silver medal for Pakistan in this year’s Commonwealth Games, taking the country’s overall tally to four.

His compatriot Inayatullah, earlier, thrashed Scotland’s Ross Connelly to seal the second bronze for Pakistan. National weightlifter Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt thus far remained the only athlete to hand Pakistan a gold medal in the ongoing global event.

READ: Inayat downs Connelly to claim second Bronze for Pakistan in CWG 2022

Inayat downs Connelly to claim second Bronze for Pakistan in CWG 2022

BIRMINGHAM: Young national wrestler Inayatullah outclassed Scotland’s Ross Connelly in the Men’s Freestyle 65kg Wrestling contest and bagged a collectively second bronze medal for the country in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

Inayat after suffering a frustrating defeat at the hands of Canadian wrestler Lachlan McNeil in the semi-final, made no mistake in the medal bout as he bounced back to thump his Scottish opponent to bag the medial.

The 20-year-old wrestler took only less than four minutes to thump Connelly by the scores of 4-0 to claim the second bronze for Pakistan in the ongoing Games.

Besides, Inayat, another national wrestlers Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar, have already booked at least a silver each as the two wrestlers have been qualified for the finals of 86 and 125kg respectively.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan has thus far claimed a total of three medals in the ongoing competition as Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt and Shah Hussain Shah claimed a gold and a bronze in weightlifting and Judo respectively.

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