By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem set his sights on breaking the world record in javelin throw on Tuesday, as he was honored at a state banquet hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“I was very happy that God bestowed me with the gold medal and we will celebrate August 14th with this. I am very happy that I’ve come to Pakistan and you’re all giving me so much love,” Nadeem said, beaming with pride.
He thanked his family and the nation for their prayers, saying they enabled him to break the Olympic record for the javelin throw event. “I will train fully for all upcoming competitions and my next goal is… I will nab the world record.”
Nadeem credited his coach, Salman Iqbal Butt, and Dr. Ali Sher Bajwa for their support, and praised Sharif’s Punjab Sports and Youth Festival initiative for “sowing the seed” of his success. “That plant has still not fully grown and is still starting, but we will take it further and make it bigger and make Pakistan proud in the world.”
Nadeem recounted his experience on the day of the final, saying, “The other players were warming up when I entered the field while I was worrying slightly about an injury I had. I blundered in my first throw, resulting in a foul, but when I took the second throw… I took God’s name and when the Javelin left my hand, I knew it was a throw over 90m.”
He also expressed his faith in himself before the Games, saying, “I qualified for the final at the Paris Olympics qualifying round with a first throw over 86m. I gained hope when I qualified that I would fight for the gold in the final.”
Nadeem’s historic performance in Paris marked Pakistan’s first individual medal at a Summer Games, beating defending champion Neeraj Chopra of India in a one-sided finale.
Pakistan had not seen an Olympic gold since 1984, when the national hockey team took top honors in Los Angeles. His achievement also ended a decades-long drought for the country, which last saw an Olympic medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
PM Sharif hosted a dinner reception at the PM House in honour of Nadeem and his family, following their arrival in Islamabad on a special aircraft. The family was greeted with full state protocol upon their landing.
Sharif termed Nadeem the “hero” of the nation, saying, “Today is a moment of great pride and happiness not only for me and the government but the whole nation whose beating heart and hero is Arshad Nadeem who not only won and gave Pakistan a gold medal after 40 years… but also doubled our joy on this occasion of independence.”
Sharif reiterated Nadeem’s accomplishment of not only bringing an Olympic gold medal to the country after 40 years but also breaking the Olympic javelin world record. “Today, the whole nation’s morale is soaring to the heavens,” he said, adding that Nadeem’s “great success” had made it clear that difficulties should not be worried about but confronted with strength and confidence.
“The example you’ve established in Paris is a shining one that where we are fully preparing to celebrate Independence Day, I think I and the whole nation have been emboldened by your feat and we will definitely cross our challenges and problems while walking in your steps with unity and consensus and together make Pakistan a great power.”
Sharif lauded Nadeem’s mother for her upbringing, saying, “This plant of success you’ve sown will not only become a big shady tree but I think it will lead to many more plants in our society whose roots will be strengthened and they will become trees too.”
The premier announced a reward of Rs150 million for Nadeem, Rs10 million for his coach, and the establishment of the Arshad Nadeem High-Performance Academy to nurture young talent. A sports endowment fund worth Rs1 billion was also announced to support athletes and retired sports players.
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