File photo of Arshad Nadeem.© AFP
The men's javelin throw final at Paris Olympics belonged to Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem. The star was at his best on the day when Pakistan needed him to perform well. In his second attempt in the final, Arshad threw the javelin to a record distance of 92.97m. The throw not only helped the Pakistani athlete clinch a gold medal eventually but it also saw him set an Olympic record. The throw from Arshad was the best by any athlete in the history of Olympics. The record was previously held by Denmark's Andreas Thorkildsen, who achieved the mark of 90.57 m at the 2008 Beijing Games.
When Pakistan's national sports board was deciding who to finance among the seven athletes bound for Paris Olympics, only Arshad and his coach were deemed good enough for funds. Nadeem and his coach Salman Fayyaz Butt were the lucky ones to have their air tickets financed by Pakistan Sports Board.
Nadeem had seen a time when he didn't have funds to even buy a javelin for himself. During his early days, he even took money from his fellow villagers and relatives so that he could travel to other cities for his training and events.
Nadeem's father, who is a retired contruction worker, was over the moon when his son clinched the glory in Paris. Every emotion was justified as both the father-son duo went through tough times for the latter to reach to this stage.
"What will the government do? I am still alive. I will support my son as long as I am alive. I've been working as a labour for the past 36 years. Never stole a single penny. I have done everything with legitimate earnings, thanks to the almighty," said Arshad's father to a local news channel after his son's Olympic gold.
— Abhishek Baxi (@baxiabhishek) August 9, 2024Reporter: "Aap hakoomat se kya madad chahte haiN?"
Arshad Nadeem's father, a labourer and a man of limited means: "Main zinda hoon."pic.twitter.com/rFxLGTik0h
Nadeem has been doing well for a long time. He won a silver medal at the World Championship last year and also a gold in the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a 90.18m throw.
On Tuesday he qualified for the finals with a throw of 86.59m, bested by Neeraj Chopra who produced a massive throw off 89.34 to qualify first.
(With PTI Inputs)