ISLAMABAD: Star javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem scripted history on Sunday by securing second place at the World Athletics Championship, winning Pakistan its first ever medal at the global competition.
India bagged the gold medal with its most acclaimed javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra, sending the javelin over an impressive 88.17m in the final at Budapest.
Nadeem began with a modest throw, sending the javelin over 74.80m before following it up with a better throw at 82.81m. In his third attempt, Nadeem impressed all with a stunning 87.82m throw. With three more throws left, Nadeem was placed at number two only behind Chopra.
In the fourth attempt, Nadeem followed up his previous impressive throw with another strong showing, sending the javelin flying over a distance of 87.15m. However, his fifth attempt was declared a foul, effectively putting him out of the race for the gold while Chopra won the competition.
Congratulations poured in for the Pakistani athlete, with many taking to social media platform X to congratulate Nadeem for winning Pakistan its first ever medal in the World Athletics Championship.
“You’ve done us all proud once again champ!” wrote former ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Pakistani cricketer Javeria Khan praised Nadeem for putting in sheer hard work for his success.
“People like Arshad remind us and the system time and again that if we invest where it is needed, then there is no one stopping us,” she wrote on X.
Pakistani cricketer Shadab Khan said the entire nation salutes Nadeem.
“I just want to say that I am your fan,” Khan wrote on X.
Nadeem secured a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a remarkable 86.79-meter throw on Friday at the World Athletics Championship.
He also crossed the Olympic qualifying benchmark of 83 meters, pushing his way into the group of top 12 international javelin throwers that will compete with one another in France in the coming year.
The star Pakistani sportsman hails from a small town, Khanewal, located in Punjab province. He is one of the 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.
Although his family lacked the financial means to encourage Nadeem’s enthusiasm for sports, his spirit earned him the support he needed, with his elder brothers working to help him build a career in athletics.
Last year, he 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 currently holds the title of the biggest throw recorded by a South Asian athlete.
