Pakistan’s Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has come in for criticism after his disappointing performance at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.Nadeem finished ninth with a sub-80-metre effort in Glasgow, with Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage winning gold and India’s Neeraj Chopra and Yashvir Singh finishing second and third, respectively.The outcome was not unexpected, considering Arshad took part in only one preparatory event in Switzerland in 2026 ahead of the CWG. He also spent all his time training in the hot weather of Lahore without working in person with any foreign coaches or trainers.Arshad, who had previously trained under South African coach Terseus Liebenberg, instead trained with his local coach, Salman Butt, and local trainers.Ironically, the weather conditions in Lahore and Glasgow were completely different.Now compare this with how Arshad’s arch-rival, Neeraj Chopra, and other Indian javelin throwers prepared for the CWG.While Neeraj had his final preparation and rehabilitation camp in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, his teammates Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh trained in Spała, Poland, under foreign coaches and trainers.The result was that India won the silver and bronze medals in the CWG javelin throw event.Arshad, who was the defending Commonwealth Games champion after winning gold at the last CWG in Birmingham in 2022 with a best throw of 90.12 metres, was unable to even cross the 80-metre mark in the final in Glasgow.He failed to qualify for the final round of eight because of his poor performance, dashing Pakistan’s hopes of another medal at the Games.For his fans, it was a huge letdown to see him struggle to get past the 80-metre mark, especially after he had won the Olympic gold medal with a record throw of 92.97 metres.Arshad’s long-serving coach, Salman Butt, admitted that Arshad was nowhere near his best at the CWG and was underprepared.While Arshad must also take some responsibility for his fall from grace, as he clearly did not look 100 percent fit in the final, he has also had to battle many issues off the track.The biggest of these was that the Pakistan Amateur Athletics Federation (PAAF) effectively distanced itself from him after a feud over the retention of Salman Butt as his coach last year.A reliable source close to Arshad said that since late last year, the PAAF and even the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) had not made life easy for the javelin thrower as he prepared for the CWG.The source said the PAAF completely distanced itself from Arshad’s preparations, leaving him on his own. When he made a few requests related to his training, they were not entertained.Similarly, the PSB did not release any funds to hire foreign coaches and trainers to assist Arshad, even while he was training in Lahore.”This is an athlete who is self-made and comes from a village and a low-income family. Yet he brought so much glory to Pakistan with his gold medals. And still, he couldn’t prepare properly for the CWG. It is a sad reflection on our sports structure,” former Olympic boxing bronze medallist Hussain Shah said.Pakistan’s first female Commonwealth Games medallist, boxer Fatima Zehra, has also lamented that had she received better training and exposure, she could have won the gold medal in her weight category.Fatima still managed to win a bronze medal in the boxing event, which remains Pakistan’s only medal at the CWG after sending a 36-member contingent.