Arshad Nadeem wins olympic gold for Pakistan, receives flurry of prizes and major announcements
PTC News Desk: Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan broke Pakistan's three-decade medal drought at the World Games by winning the gold medal and setting a new Olympic record in the javelin throw competition in Paris.
Arshad threw the javelin at his career-best distance of 92.97 meters to accomplish this accomplishment. Arshad's first throw in Thursday night's French final was ruled a foul, but his second attempt shattered the 2008 Olympic mark. Arshad threw a javelin over ninety meters in the tournament, which was the longest throw of his career and the sixth longest in the world. Arshad has bowled a toss that is further than ninety meters twice in his career.
With a javelin throw of 90.18 meters, he had previously won the gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
With a javelin throw of 89.45 meters, Arshad's longtime adversary and reigning champion Neeraj Chopra of India took home the silver medal. Neeraj's best throw of the year was this one. Granada's Andersen Peters won the bronze medal. When Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem returned to Lahore on Saturday night with a medal for Pakistan following a 40-year absence, it was undoubtedly a joyous occasion.
There were thousands of spectators at the airport, anticipating the athlete's return to Pakistan. Speaking to the media upon his return to Pakistan, Arshad stated, "God has blessed me with this, thanks to the prayers of the nation and my parents." This triumph has been the result of a lengthy journey. I put in a lot of overtime to earn the medal."
Following his meeting with the media, Arshad got aboard a customized double-decker bus, posed for photos with the crowd, and raised his hands in response to their cries.
Earlier, Arshad Nadeem remarked, "Today I could have done a better throw, but what was written in my destiny, God has given it," in an interview with the private channel Geo News following his gold medal triumph. I'm going to keep working hard and maybe get even better.
Arshad stated, "Today God has blessed us with a medal and the prayers of the entire Pakistani nation were with me." Arshad responded, "It's August, and we'll celebrate with the gold medal on August 14 this time," when asked how he would celebrate winning this medal.
In a post-match press conference alongside the other two players, Arshad Nadeem stated, "I am very fortunate that the Pakistani nation has prayed for me so much."
Large rewards and honours have been bestowed to Arshad Nadeem at the public and private levels in Pakistan in recognition of his accomplishment, which led to the International Athletics Federation announcing that he would receive an award of $50,000.
In addition to the government of Pakistan releasing a special 'Azam Sathwat' postage stamp with Arshad Nadeem's image on the occasion of August 14, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari announced Hilal Imtiaz to Arshad Nadeem on Sunday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has awarded a reward money of Rs 15 crore for Arshad in recognition of his tremendous success.
In addition, the Arshad Nadeem High Performance Academy was announced and a road in Islamabad was named in his honour.
Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Punjab, had earlier visited Arshad Nadeem and his family at Mian Chanu. where he accepted a reward of a car and a cheque for 10 crores. In addition, the government of Sindh has declared crores of rupees.
Private bank UBL has given a reward of Rs 50 lakh, while Karachi-based power distribution company K Electric has announced a prize of Rs 20 lakh for Arshad. Arshad Nadeem is being sponsored by Toyota for the Olympics, and Toyota has handed him a car valued at Rs 10 lakh.
In addition, musician Ali Zafar and former Pakistan cricket player Ahmed Shahzida have each pledged to donate 10 lakh rupees apiece.
A one and a half crore rupee incentive has also been promised for Arshad's coach, Salman Iqbal Butt. Regarding the rivalry between India and Pakistan in other sports, such as cricket, Arshad Nadeem stated: "People in both countries take time off work to watch TV during India-Pakistan cricket matches, just as they do when my brother and Neeraj Bhai play. Even then, everyone watches us on TV and skips work.
Neeraj mentioned that a lot of people in our two countries were unaware of the javelin throw on this particular day.
"Arshad and I have been competing since 2016 and God was with me in previous competitions but today he is with Arshad and I am very happy because Arshad works hard," he states.
"Javelin has become very popular in both countries now and we hope more and more youngsters will come forward and take up javelin," Neeraj added.
Neeraj and Arshad also discussed their wounds and operations. Speaking, Arshad Nadeem stated, "My technique has improved and we are working on it more."
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Arshad is the third Pakistani to earn a medal at the Olympics and the first to win a gold medal in individual competitions.
Hussain Shah, an Olympic boxer, earned bronze in Seoul in 1988, while Muhammad Basheer, a wrestler, won bronze in Rome in 1960. For the first time since 1992, Pakistan was able to secure an Olympic medal because to Arshad's performance.
Pakistan's last Olympic gold medal was won in the hockey competitions at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, hence the country had a long wait for a gold medal. With Arshad's accomplishment, Pakistan has won 11 medals in total—four gold, three silver, and one bronze—at the Olympics.
Eight of these eleven medals have been won in hockey, with the remaining three coming from wrestling, boxing, and javelin throw.
Arshad Nadeem asked for prayers from the public in a video statement after reaching the final, saying, "With your prayers, I have qualified for the final in the very first throw of the qualification round." "Pray more for me so that I can perform better and win medals for Pakistan."
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The people of Pakistan were certain that their three-decade wait was ended when Arshad Nadeem broke the record in the javelin throw final.
Social media users in Pakistan began to congratulate Arshad Nadeem and share the video of his record-breaking throw, which he made with 92.97 meters, as his name became the most popular trend. Make a record for the world.
The prime minister of Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif, congratulated Arshad Nadeem on his triumph and remarked, "Arshad, you have done a great feat, history has been made."
He said, "You have made the entire nation proud."
Arshad Nadeem's gold medal achievement was welcomed by Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and former prime minister, on his X account. The statement said, "Arshad Nadeem's continuous hard work and dedication has made him and the country proud."
"A Pakistani has never before taken home an individual gold medal from the Olympics." He serves as a role model for the younger generation.
Sana Mir, the previous captain of the Pakistani women's cricket team, stated, "Arshad has done brilliantly and his throw is enough for a gold medal."
In typical Pakistani fashion, fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar referred to Arshad Nadeem as a "prince" after the latter's record throw, while academic Adil Najam wrote, "Dil Khush kar dia Shehzade."
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- With inputs from agencies
