ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top javelin athlete Arshad Nadeem clinched another gold for his country on Friday at the 2022 Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey, where he created a new games record with an 88.55-meter throw, confirmed the country’s sports authority.
Last week, Nadeem won the top medal at the Commonwealth Games in a fifth-round throw of 90.18 meters, making a new record at the games where he now holds the title of the biggest throw recorded by a South Asian athlete.
His victory was widely celebrated in Pakistan where he was applauded by the top political and military leadership along with leading celebrities.
“Arshad Nadeem Won Gold Medal for Pakistan at Islamic solidarity Games 2022 with a massive throw of 88.55 meter, a new record and a Great Win,” the Pakistan Sports Board said in a Twitter post, adding that the whole nation was proud of the athlete and naming several officials, including the prime minister, who congratulated him for his new accomplishment.
Nadeem, a poor boy from smalltown Khanewal, is one of nine children of a daily wage laborer who showed great versatility as an athlete from a young age while dabbling in all kinds of sports at school.
Though the family lacked financial means to encourage Nadeem’s enthusiasm for sports, the boy’s spirit earned him the support he needed, with his elder brothers working to help him build a career in sports, the family told Arab News in an interview last year.
After participating in several international tournaments, Nadeem said Pakistani athletes found it difficult to compete with their rivals from other countries due to the lack of facilities.
He noted that the national sports authorities were putting in a lot of effort, though more needed to be done.
