"After Neeraj won gold, we would read about how it could inspire the next gen" - Arshad Nadeem's brother Azeem opens up on historic Pakistan gold
The euphoria around Arshad Nadeem’s gold medal win at the Paris Olympics refuses to die down at his ancestral home at Khanewal village near Mian Channu, a nondescript town in Pakistan’s Punjab province. His family prepares for a grand welcome of the javelin thrower, whose monstrous Olympic record throw of 92.97m fetched the country its first-ever individual gold. As such, many believe that his achievement could potentially kick off a javelin revolution, similar to the impact Neeraj Chopra’s 2020 Tokyo gold created across the border.
Locals gathered in numbers around a makeshift screen on the back of a truck, captivated by the live broadcast of Nadeem’s Olympic final, which took place late Thursday night in Paris. The wait was worth it as the 6’3’’ Pakistani thrower launched the javelin beyond that magic mark of 90m, not once but twice (91.79m in his final attempt) in a span of four throws to give Pakistan its first Olympic medal in 32 years, and first Olympic gold in 40 years.
Back home, the celebrations continued into the night, and the family was flooded with congratulatory messages on their phones from across the country. Hailing from a humble background, the 27-year-old thrower, third among seven siblings, not only battled financial hurdles but infrastructural handicaps like most non-cricket athletes in the country.
Arshad's gold will inspire the next generation
His older brother, Shahin Nadeem, who was instrumental in Arshad’s transition to javelin believes his brother’s spectacular show in Paris could inspire the next generation to think of a sporting career beyond cricket.
“It’s a proud moment for our country, and as Arshad said it was his pre-Independence Day gift to his countrymen. This is a moment to celebrate after all the hardships that he has undergone to reach to that level. It will take some time to sink in,” Shahin said.
“When I got him switch from cricket to javelin, there were hardly any role models (from his sport) in the country. But today after Arshad’s remarkable feat, things could change, the next generation has a hero, born in their country, trained with bare minimum facilities and despite all odds, he showed it’s possible to win an Olympic medal. There’s no alternative to hard work and dedication, and Arshad’s performance was a testament to that,” Shahin told Sportskeeda.
“In India, after Neeraj Chopra won the gold in Tokyo Olympics, we would read stuff about how an Olympic gold could inspire the next generation. Similarly, Arshad’s medal could be just the start of a javelin revolution in our country,” quipped another elder brother Muhammed Azeem.
Justifying his statement, Azeem claimed that the rural belts of Pakistan’s Punjab is full of well-built youngsters eager to put in long hours in training but lack proper guidance and infrastructure.
“The Punjab region has got a lot of potential, traditionally the youth are physically very strong, and have the endurance level to sustain in a demanding sport like track and field. What they need is proper infrastructure and guidance besides the platform to showcase their skills,” he said while insisting that his brother’s Paris feat could potentially get the much-needed push.
General (retd) Muhammad Akram Sahi, who has been heading the country’s national athletics body is on the same page with Arshad’s brothers and believes that this gold could be a new dawn to the dreams of the next generation of track and field athletes from Pakistan.
In Paris, amidst the euphoria of Arshad’s scintillating show, his coach Salman Iqbal Butt admitted that mammoth Games record throw of 92.97m also surprised him. In the process, Arshad eclipsed the previous Olympic record of 90.57m, set by the Netherlands’ Andreas Thorkildsen at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Butt rightfully summed his analysis with a witty one-liner during his interaction.
“That throw was unbelievable and out of the syllabus.”