An emotional Arshad Nadeem, wrapped around a Pakistan flag, was embraced by his coach.© X (Twitter)
Arshad Nadeem gave Pakistan its first Olympic gold medal in 32 years, setting a new Games record with an attempt of 92.97 metres in the men's javelin throw final. Before Arshad's remarkable victory in Paris, Pakistan had never won an individual gold medal at the Olympics. Pakistan had previously won just three golds, all in field hockey, with their team winning the titles in 1960, 1968 and 1984. It was an astonishing feat for Arshad, who unlike his opponents, struggled to even buy a new javelin for training.
After securing his country's first gold medal since Barcelona 1992, an emotional Arshad, wrapped around a Pakistan flag, hugged his coach, who embraced and congratulated the 27-year-old. A video of the same went viral on social media.
— Aman Sharma (@amansharmadb) August 9, 2024In a podcast, @Arshadnadeem76 said, "Mera aik hi sponsor hai, aur wo mera baap hai". In English,"I have just one sponsor, my father".
For a guy, who struggled even to collect money to buy a new javelin worth just 85k(1000$), have no one to support him, not just scoring in... pic.twitter.com/dEkmcACcop
Nadeem, the 2022 Commonwealth champion who was fifth at the Tokyo Olympics and a silver medallist at last year's Budapest world championships, said the result was "very important for Pakistan because I have worked very hard over the years for this".
"My training and hard work have paid off. Like cricket, the javelin rivalry was present! People back home in Pakistan and India were eager to see us compete together," Nadeem said on his rivalry with Tokyo gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, who had to settle for a silver in Paris.
"Rivalry is there when it comes to cricket matches, other sports, the two countries have a rivalry, but it's a good thing for the young people in both countries to watch our sport and follow us.
"It's a positive thing for both countries."
Chopra agreed, saying it was good for both countries, and could act as a spur to attract more people to athletics, and javelin in particular.
Nadeem said he had big ambitions for throwing even further.
"I was expecting to go even further and I am hoping to go even further," he said after his new Olympic record beat his previous best by more than two metres.
"I will try harder to even extend my personal best to over 95 metres."
With AFP Inputs