Arshad Nadeem wins gold. Here is the amazing story of Pakistan’s javelin thrower

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Arshad Nadeem wins gold for Pakistan in men’s javelin throw at 2024 Paris Olympics

By Asia Samachar | Pakistan |

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem clinched the country’s first-ever track and field medal at the Olympics as he claimed gold in the men’s javelin final in Paris, dethroning defending champion Neeraj Chopra of India.

In the process, the 27-year-old lad from Punjab covered a stunning 92.97 metres in his second throw, making it the best in the world this year.

Chopra had to contend with a silver in the men’s javelin final with a best throw of 89.45m on Aug 8.

It was certainly an amazing feat for Nadeem, who hails from Mian Channu, a small town in the eastern Punjab province. The lad from the Khanewal village was nursing a knee injury early.

That’s not all. Standing at 6’3″, Nadeem surmounted all the challenges thrown at him, including having to contend with dilapidated athletics facilities back in Pakistan.

“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.

Funding was a constant struggle. Nadeem and his coach Salman Fayyaz Butt were among the seven lucky enough to get funding for their air tickets financed by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

Few months back when Arshad appealed for authorities to replace his old javelin with a new one for his training, Chopra promptly supported Nadeem’s case on social media, according to one report.

It has not been an easy ride. The scene at the imposing Paris venue of Stade de France a far cry from the Punjab Stadium in Lahore where Arshad was training about a month ago.

India’s Neeraj Chopra (left) and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem at the 2024 Paris Olympics

A recent article in Pakistan newspaper The Dawn describes the place where he trained: “For all the venues across the globe he’s been to, he seems to have made peace with whatever decrepit facilities there are back home. The gym at the Punjab University is a throwback to the seventies. A cycling machine barely holds itself up in one corner, lumpy punching bags hang from another. The newest piece of equipment here is older than the 27-year-old himself, who has quietly begun stacking weights for his clean and jerk. The nakedness of a space that is supposed to be foundational in his quest for Olympic glory is startling.”

While Nadeem was gearing up in Pakistan, his Indian arch rival spent the summer in Europe acclimatising for the Olympics.

In 2023, Nadeem won a silver medal at the World Championship and also a gold in the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a 90.18m throw.

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