Arshad Nadeem, a 27-year-old Pakistani athlete, brought an end to his country’s 4-year Olympic gold medal drought by winning the gold in the Paris Games on Thursday. He achieved this feat with a record-breaking throw of 92.97m, which also set a new Olympic record.
Pakistan had been waiting for 4 years to claim a gold medal in the Olympics, with its last success coming from the hockey team in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
From struggle to triumph: Nadeem’s journey to olympic glory
When Pakistan’s National Sports Board was determining which of the seven athletes bound for the Paris Olympics would receive financial support, only Arshad Nadeem and his coach, Salman Fayyaz Butt, were deemed deserving of the funds. The PSB (Pakistan Sports Board) covered the air tickets for Nadeem and his coach, making them the fortunate recipients of the board’s backing.
On Thursday, the 27-year-old athlete from Khanewal village in Punjab repaid that trust by setting an Olympic record and securing the country’s first-ever individual gold medal on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
A towering 6’3″ athlete delivered an awe-inspiring performance, hurling the javelin an incredible 92.97 meters to set a new Olympic record, smashing the previous mark of 90.57 meters. Among his competitors was his close friend and fierce rival, Neeraj Chopra, from India.
Despite giving his best effort of the season with a throw of 89.45 meters, Chopra, the defending champion, had to settle for a silver medal. At 26 years old, Chopra is still striving to break the elusive 90-meter barrier, a challenge that seems to be weighing on his mind during competitions.
In contrast, while Chopra has received substantial support and care throughout his career, Nadeem, the new Olympic champion, once struggled to afford a javelin of his own.
“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,” his father Muhammad Ashraf told PTI after his qualification to the Olympics finals on Tuesday.
Pakistan sent seven athletes to the Paris Olympics, but only one of them reached the finals in their event. That athlete, Arshad Nadeem, achieved a significant milestone by qualifying for the finals for the second consecutive Olympics. This accomplishment was met with immense pride and joy at his home, where his family, including his parents, brothers, wife, and children, celebrated with chants of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and distributed sweets to commemorate the moment.
A few months prior, Nadeem’s request for a new javelin to aid his training gained public support from Neeraj Chopra on social media. Despite battling injuries and facing challenges due to limited facilities and equipment compared to other nations, Nadeem’s remarkable achievements have sparked a shift in focus within Pakistan, drawing attention away from cricket and highlighting the sport of athletics.
‘Happy for Nadeem, he’s also our child’: Neeraj Chopra’s mother
Neeraj Chopra’s mother, Saroj Devi, was overjoyed with her son’s silver medal win, but also showed admiration for Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who broke the Olympic record to take the gold medal. Despite the competition between their countries, Saroj Devi referred to Nadeem as “my child”, highlighting her maternal pride and sportsmanship.
“We are very happy with the silver, the one who got gold is also our child and the one who got silver is also our child….all are athletes, all work hard,” Saroj told PTI in Khandra, Panipat, where the family is based.
“Nadeem is also good, he plays well, there is no difference between Neeraj and Nadeem. We got gold and silver there is no difference for us,” she added in the interview given on Thursday night.