Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem has made history by clinching the country’s first-ever track and field medal at the Olympics as he claimed gold in the men’s javelin final in Paris.
The 27-year-old dethroned defending champion Neeraj Chopra of India and broke the Olympic record at the Stade de France on Thursday.
Nadeem threw his arms up in celebration after breaking the Olympic record on his second throw that landed at a stunning 92.97 metres – the best in the world this year.
Chopra, comfortably ahead in qualifiers and favourite to win, looked off his best form. His best of 89.45 metres was also his only valid attempt as he fouled on his five other attempts.
Grenada’s Anderson Peters won bronze with 88.54 metres, a redemptive moment for the two-time world champion after he failed to make it to the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
However, the night belonged to the humble man from Mian Channu, a small town in the eastern Punjab province, who came back from a knee injury early this year and made history for his country despite the dilapidated athletics facilities in the cricket-mad nation.
Of Pakistan’s eight previous Olympic medals, six came in men’s hockey and one each in men’s wrestling and boxing.
Nadeem’s achievement also marked the first medal by Pakistan for eight Olympics, with the last medal coming in 1992 as the men’s hockey team won bronze in Barcelona, Spain.
Men's javelin throw final was BIG 🔥
🥇 92.97m OR Arshad Nadeem 🇵🇰
🥈 89.45m @Neeraj_chopra1 🇮🇳
🥉 88.54m Anderson Peters 🇬🇩 #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/jPrVZZ6txl— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 8, 2024
Pakistan ‘so proud’ of Nadeem
Two months before the Olympics, Al Jazeera’s Abid Hussain spent a day with Arshad Nadeem as he prepared for the Games.
Back then, in June, Nadeem told us he felt “strong and fit” for the world event, adding he was “quite hopeful of a strong performance in Paris”.
The world record throw remains with Czechia’s Jan Zelezny, who reached a remarkable 98.48, but the new Olympic record, along with the end of a long wait for his country, drew reaction from far and wide from Nadeem’s compatriots.
Pakistan men’s cricketer Fakhar Zaman said the country was “beaming with pride” in a post on X, while Nadeem’s mentor and former coach, Rasheed Ahmad Saqi, was overwhelmed with emotions after his ward won the gold medal.
“This is God’s miracle and a gift for the entire nation on our independence day next week. I’m just so proud of Arshad,” he told Al Jazeera moments after the gold medal was confirmed.
Saqi claims he was confident that Nadeem would win a medal and had predicted it would be a gold.
“I had this belief that he will break some record. I was certain he will break his own record or Olympic record and that’s what he did.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also congratulated Arshad Nadeem on making history for the country.
He posted on X: “You’ve made the whole nation proud.”
