Arshad Nadeem won the Gold Medal for Pakistan in the Paris Olympics 2024. He also broke the Olympic record on the same night by throwing 92.97 m long.
Who would have thought that the boy from Mian Channu (A small town in Pakistan) who couldn’t afford even to buy a Javelin would become the Olympic Gold Medalist? Yes, this is a small world fellow and this life could unlock a lot of achievements if you don’t give up.
Who is Arshad Nadeem?
Arshad Nadeem is a Pakistani Javelin thrower. He is the current Olympic champion in Men’s Javelin Throw, with an Olympic record throw of 92.97 meters at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He is a two-time Olympian and the first Pakistani to reach the final of any track and field event at the Olympic Games or World Athletics Championships.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, he set a new national and Commonwealth Games record with a throw of 90.18m, becoming the first South Asian athlete to do so. In 2023, he became the first Pakistani athlete to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships, taking silver. He represents WAPDA in the domestic competition. In the 2024 Olympics, Arshad Nadeem won the Gold Medal leaving behind India’s Neeraj Chopra.
Arshad Nadeem: Where did the dream start?
Arshad Nadeem was born to a Punjabi family in Mian Channu, Punjab, Pakistan. He is the third oldest of eight siblings. Arshad was an incredibly versatile athlete throughout his early school years. Though he participated in all of his school’s sports (cricket, badminton, football, and athletics), cricket was his true passion, and he quickly found himself playing in district-level tape-ball events. When Arshad entered seventh grade, he drew Rasheed Ahmad Saqi’s attention during an athletics tournament. Saqi had a track record of developing athletes in the category, and Arshad quickly became one of his proteges.
Before settling on javelin throw, Arshad also pursued shot put and discus throw. Gold medals in javelin throw in successive Punjab Youth Festivals and an inter-board meet propelled him onto the national stage, bringing offers from all the leading domestic athletics teams, including Army, Air Force, and WAPDA. It was his father Muhammad Ashraf who persuaded him to take up the sport of javelin throw.
Arshad Nadeem: Journey towards Glory
Arshad Nadeem began competing in javelin-throwing competitions in 2015. In 2016, he got a World Athletics scholarship, allowing him to train at the IAAF High Performance Training Centre in Mauritius.
In February 2016, Nadeem earned the bronze medal at the South Asian Games in Guwahati, India. In the athletics event, he broke the national record and recorded a personal best of 78.33 meters.
Nadeem earned bronze at the 17th Asian Junior Athletics Championship, which took place in Ho Chi Minh in June 2016.
Arshad Nadeem best throws
In May 2017, Arshad Nadeem earned a bronze medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku with a best throw of 76.33 meters. In April 2018, he established a new personal best of 80.45 meters in the javelin throw qualification round before finishing eighth at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. He also suffered a back ailment following the conclusion of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In August 2018, he earned a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, setting a new personal best and national record of 80.75 meters.
As the lone Pakistani athlete competing at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Arshad Nadeem set a new personal best and national record of 81.52m. In November 2019, Nadeem established a national record with an 83.65-meter throw to earn gold for WAPDA at the 33rd National Games in Peshawar. In December 2019, he won a gold medal at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal with an 86.29-metre game record.
Here comes the Olympic Glory
Arshad Nadeem made his Olympic debut, representing Pakistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were held in 2021. In doing so, he became Pakistan’s first track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics. His father asserted that Nadeem was not even given a suitable training facility before competing in the Olympics. Nadeem trained in his own house’s courtyard and streets, and he is thought to have gotten no financial aid from the Pakistani government after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.
On 4 August 2021, he qualified for the men’s javelin throw event final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He became the first Pakistani to qualify for the final of any track and field event in the history of the Olympics. He finished fifth in the men’s javelin throw event with a throw of 84.62 m.
Arshad Nadeem’s javelin throw record
From March 2022 to the start of the world championships, Arshad Nadeem trained in South Africa under the direction of Terseus Liebenberg, the world athletic coach. The Athletics Federation of Pakistan arranged the training.
Nadeem attended the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, as Pakistan’s single representative. He finished fifth in the final with a throw of 86.16 meters.
Stage of Injury for Arshad Nadeem
On August 7, 2022, he earned Pakistan’s gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Despite being injured, Arshad Nadeem set a game record with a throw of 90.18m on his fifth attempt, beating World Champions Anderson Peters’ 88.64 in the competition and becoming the first South Asian to exceed the 90m mark. This Gold Medal came after 60 years for Pakistan.
Treatment for injury
Arshad Nadeem departed for the United Kingdom on December 1, 2022, to receive therapy for his wounded elbow and knee joint. The Athletics Federation of Pakistan arranged for him to receive treatment at Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital. After ten days of rehabilitation and physiotherapy, full recovery was expected to take another four to six weeks.
Another Injury for Arshad
Arshad Nadeem competed in the National Games of Pakistan and earned a gold medal in the javelin throw. However, he sustained a knee injury that kept him out of the Asian Athletics Championships. The Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) president, Akram Sahi, criticized WAPDA for pushing Nadeem to compete in the National Games.
Did Arshad Nadeem win a gold medal?
Arshad Nadeem won Gold at the Paris Olympics 2024. He has also made an Olympics and games record in the Paris Olympics 2024. A few days ago he broke the game’s record by throwing a 90.18 meter long throw. He became the first man from South Asia to break a 90-meter barrier.
Arshad Nadeem Throws at the Paris Olympics Final 2024
First Throw: Foul
Second Throw: 92.97 meter
Third Throw: 88.72 meters (Ruled Out)
Fourth Throw: 79.30 meter
Fifth Throw: 84.87 meter
Last Throw: 91.79 meter
Finally, the man from Main Channu has done it for Pakistan, and with that, the medal drought has also ended for Pakistan.
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