In the paris olympics finals on thursday, Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem reached the 92.97-meter barrier on his second try. As a result, he beat the Olympic record and temporarily took the top spot in the rankings. The reigning champion, Neeraj Chopra, fouled on his first attempt but made his best throw of the season, 89.45, on his second try.
 
The Story Behind Arshad Nadeem
The phrase "it takes a village to raise a champion" perfectly sums up Pakistan's javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem's ascent to his first Olympic final, which he achieved here on Tuesday.
 
For the record, Nadeem, the cross-border neighbour of Neeraj Chopra, is the only Asian player to break the 90-meter barrier—the other is from Taipei, China.
 
Nadeem's accomplishments are not a result of the system, but rather of it; in pakistan, where cricket is seen to be the only sport in which significant expenditures are made, this is evident.
 
It makes sense that the people of Khanewal, in the punjab state of pakistan, were quite happy with their boy's qualification.

"No one knows how Arshad arrived at this location today. How, in his early days, his father Muhammad Ashraf spoke over the phone with PTI about how his fellow neighbours and relatives would give money so that he could travel to different towns for his training and tournaments.
 
Nadeem, 27, is now Pakistan's best and last chance to win an Olympic medal. Of the seven athletes pakistan sent to paris, six did not make it to the finals of their respective competitions.
 
Nadeem's parents, siblings, wife, two kids, and other villagers celebrated his qualification for the second consecutive olympics finals by raising the phrase "Pakistan Zindabad" at his home. His parents gave out candy as well.
 
However, according to his father, work is still ongoing.
 
"If my son can bring home an Olympic medal for pakistan it would be the proudest moment for us and everyone in this village," he stated.
 
He remembers how his other villagers would all pitch in with donations for his travels when his kid initially started throwing javelins and had to travel for trials and contests up country.
 
"If he wins a medal, it will be a triumph for everyone in our village and our country," he stated.
 
Arshad earned a silver medal in the World championship last year and a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, raising expectations for Pakistan.
 
He became the first Pakistani athlete to win a gold medal in the CWG since 1962 when he did so. With a tremendous throw that reached 90.18 meters, he won the gold.
 
With a throw of 86.59 meters on Tuesday, he qualified for the finals; nevertheless, Neeraj Chopra, his chief competitor and the indian team's gold medal contender, topped the qualifying list with an incredible 89.34 meters.
 
Nadeem and Neeraj have a well-established rivalry and friendship. At the most recent olympics in tokyo, when the indian hero took home the gold for his nation, his opponent came in fifth in the overall standings.
 
When Nadeem asked the authorities a few months ago to get a new javelin for training in exchange of his old one, Neeraj quickly backed Arshad's argument on social media.
 
Nadeem's career has advanced significantly since he first appeared in contests, and his family, supporters, and friends are optimistic that he may surpass his tokyo fifth-place result.
 
Nadeem has accomplished much already by getting Pakistanis to pay close attention to his accomplishments rather than cricket, even though his career has been plagued by elbow, knee, and back issues for which he even needed knee surgery last year. He has also been hindered by the lack of top facilities and equipment available to athletes of other countries.
 
He will have an extremely difficult assignment on thursday in the javelin throw finals since, aside from track and field, no Pakistani athlete has ever taken home an Olympic gold medal in any individual category.
 
 

 
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Arshad Nadeem

G GOWTHAM

09/08/2024 08:20 AM