Arshad Nadeem becomes country’s first Olympic gold medal winner

MULTAN, Aug 09 (APP): Pakistani juvenil thrower Arshad Nadeem sets up an Olympic record in the men’s javelin throw final event held in Paris Olympic and grabbed a gold medal thus become Pakistan’s first Olympic champion in 40 years.
Arshad Nadeem who wrote his name in the stars in the Stade de France on Thursday night by winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games belongs to Mian Chanu, Khanewal district.
The record of 90.57, held by ­Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen since Bejing 2008, finally diminished into the rear view mirror as Nadeem surprised the world through his second throw covered the distance as 92.97.
Nadeem threw his arms up in ­celebrations and near disbelief himself when the record flashed up on the board, confirming that it was the longest throw in the world this year.
After the tremendous victory, Nadeem spoke about his difficult journey to the Olympics, saying he had climbed to the top of the sport with no access to better grounds or training facilities. Using his current platform, he called for increased funding for track and field athletes in Pakistan.
“I must say people have to be provided world-class facilities to develop athletes as the competition is getting tougher and tougher. You can’t produce another Arshad without offering them those facilities”, he said on the occasion.
Nadeem’s 92.97-meter throw in his second attempt broke the record and set the bar high early in the final completion. He beat silver medalist Neeraj Chopra by over three feet. Grenada’s Anderson Peters won bronze.
The country has won the last Olympic medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with a bronze in men’s field hockey, 32 years to the day before Thursday.
The last gold medal for Pakistan was won at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by the men’s field hockey team.
It may be important to note that Pakistan sent just seven athletes to Paris, tied with 2016 for the fewest athletes sent by the nation to the Summer Olympics.
Arshad’s story is one of perseverance in spite of the shambolic athletic facilities in the cricket-mad country.
“His success belongs to him and his family alone”, reported the global media.
Pakistan will surely celebrate the occasion – from his hometown of Mian Chunnu in the Punjab province to the southern metropolis of Karachi.
In winning gold medal, Nadeem defeated his good friend and South Asian rival Neeraj Chopra, who won gold in Tokyo three years ago and is the reigning world champion.
Both – Nadeem and Neeraj – will have to wait until Friday to get on the podium and wear the medals around their necks.
Nadeem was born on January 2, 1997, in a small village near the city of Mian Channu in southern Punjab state.
The third of seven siblings, Arshad Nadeem grew up in a household that struggled to make ends meet. His father, Muhammad Ashraf is a retired construction worker and the sole breadwinner.
Nadeem’s older brother, Shahid Azeem, 32, said their family used to eat meat only once a year, during Eid al-Azha.
Cricket was Arshad Nadeem’s first love, said Shahid, talking to Al Jazeera, a Qatar-based media outlet.
“I used to be a very good bowler and would participate in a lot of tournaments,” Nadeem told.
Shahid recalled that he could single-handedly get teams out. If he would have continued to play, I am sure he could have become as fast as Shoaib Akhtar, he added, comparing Nadeem to one of Pakistan’s fastest bowlers, who retired in 2011.
Rasheed Ahmad Saqi, a hotelier and resident of Mian Channu who scouts and invests in new athletic talent, saw Nadeem competing in a match in 2011.The 69-year old Saqi had competed on the provincial level in track and field, including in javelin throw, in the 1960s and 1970s.Two weeks after the event, Saqi was sitting in a hotel he owns in Mian Channu when Ashraf brought his son to his office. “Arshad is your son and your responsibility from today,” Ashraf told him.
“And from that day onwards, I have taken him under my wings,” said Saqi, who became Nadeem’s first coach and mentor.