[Watch] Pakistan cricketers celebrate Arshad Nadeem's gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics
Pakistan cricketers, part of the Shaheens team, were in a full-on celebratory mood in their hotel room after Arshad Nadeem clinched gold in the men's javelin throw final of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Thursday, August 8. The 27-year-old defeated India's Neeraj Chopra in a fiercely contested battle to finish on top.
Nadeem set the all-time Olympic record of 92.97 meters to upstage second-placed Neeraj's 89.45 meters.
In a video shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on its Instagram handle, several cricketers glued to the television celebrated wildly once Nadeem clinched gold as below:
The contingent included Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, and youngster Mohammad Huraira, among others as the players erupted in joy. Some also shared congratulatory messages for Nadeem, as seen in the above video.
Incidentally, Neeraj and Nadeem finished top two in the Budapest World Championships with the roles reversed then - the former finishing first and the latter second.
Other Pakistan cricketers congratulate Arshad Nadeem's 2024 Olympic Gold
Several other former and current Pakistan greats congratulated Arshad Nadeem on his incredible achievement of winning gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Former captain Wasim Akram posted on his social media handle:
"Incredible achievement #ArshadNadeem you've broken the drought & made Pakistan proud 92.97m will be etched in history forever Congratulations on this monumental feat."
Another former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akthar posted a video on his X handle saying:
Out of nowhere, this son of a lion has won Pakistan a gold medal. What a player, Arshad! You have achieved this on your own, with your own hardwork and calibre.Many congratulations to you, to Pakistan. Mood of the entire nation has changed with one Gold medal.
Current white-ball skipper Babar Azam hailed Nadeem on his Instagram handle by saying:
"After 30 long years, the gold is back in Pakistan! Huge congratulations to @arshadnadeem29 for this incredible achievement. You’ve made the entire nation proud."
Meanwhile, Pakistan are preparing for their two-Test home series against Bangladesh, starting August 21.
They recently announced their 17-member squad for the series with Shan Masood as captain and a newly-appointed vice-captain in Saud Shakeel.