Pakistan’s sensational javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem created history as he won the first individual gold medal for his country at an Olympics event on Thursday. Arshad Nadeem defeated India’s golden boy Neeraj Chopra as he sent the javelin hurling a tunning 92.97 meters. The throw became the biggest throw in the history of the Olympics and the sixth-highest overall.
The throw was enough for Arshad Nadeem to cement his spot at the top and retain it for the rest of the competition, finishing with the gold medal – ahead of Neeraj Chopra.
Everything You Need To Know About Pakistan’s Golden Boy Arshad Nadeem
It has to be noted that Nadeem was one of the seven members Pakistan contingent for the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 and the only one who progressed to the final match.
As Nadeem clinched the gold medal for a second successive Olympics, there were celebrations at home where his parents, brothers, wife, two children, relatives, and other fellow villagers celebrated the milestone and raised slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.
However, the achievement didn’t come easy for Nadeem as he fought with all the odds and created a world record. In fact, Nadeem’s story is something worth celebrating and taking inspiration from.
When Arshad Nadeem took up javelin throw, he reportedly didn’t have enough money. Arshad’s family struggled financially, with his father, a mason, supporting a large family on modest earnings. According to his father, Muhammad Ashraf, the people of his village pitched in money so he could train.
“We have seen days when I would earn 300-400 rupees a day and had to support nine beings at home. But we made sure that Arshad and his siblings got milk and ghee,” his uncle had said.
Arshad Nadeem’s father, Muhammad Ashraf revealed: “People have no idea how Arshad got to this place today. How his fellow villagers and relatives used to donate money so that he could travel to other cities for his training and events in his early days.”
Arshad Nadeem, who hails from Khanewal village in Pakistan’s Punjab region, was the only athlete to be financed by the country’s national sports body in sending them to the Paris Olympics 2024 and the 27-year-old repaid everyone’s faith with the gold.
In his initial days, Arshad Nadeem used to play tape-ball cricket before he took up Javelin. His uncle ensured that he had a rich diet of milk and ghee, even during his family’s tough times.
India’s Neeraj Chopra also supported Arshad Nadeem by going above and beyond the neighborly and sporting rivalry. Interestingly, Arshad used to spend time at home studying javelin techniques, at times of injuries and used to watch videos of Neeraj Chopra to get inspired to do well.
“When he was at home during the injury, he would talk about javelin and the similarities between tent pegging and javelin. He would tell us that it’s as precise as tent pegging and the right angle and velocity have to be achieved in javelin too,” his uncle Ashraf had told reporters last year.
It was a few months back when Arshad Nadeem appealed on social media to get his old javelin replaced with a new one for his training, Neeraj Chopra backed the case of his Pakistani rival.
Despite struggling with back, elbow, and knee issues and being hit by a lack of facilities by the government, Nadeem’s inspiring story is all about passion and resilience.
Arshad Nadeem’s achievements at the Paris Olympics 2024:
- He won Pakistan’s first Olympic gold in 40 years
- Nadeem’s throw was Pakistan’s first individual gold medal, first track and field medal.
- It is the second time a South Asian has had a podium finish in track and field.
- It shattered the previous Olympic record of 90.57m, set by the Netherlands’ Andreas Thorkildsen at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
- The throw now stands as the sixth longest throw ever, and the best in the world this year.
