ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar congratulated javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem on Monday for becoming the first Pakistani athlete to bag a medal at the World Athletics Championship, praising him for his "excellent sportsmanship."
Nadeem made history in Budapest late Sunday night when he bagged the silver medal at the global competition, with his rival Neeraj Chopra from India bagging the gold medal. The Pakistani athlete began with a modest throw, sending the javelin over 74.80 meters before following it up with a better throw at 82.81meters. In his third attempt, Nadeem impressed all with a stunning 87.82-meter throw, trailing 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 87.15 meters. However, his fifth attempt was declared a foul, effectively putting him out of the race for the gold.
A large crowd of people had assembled outside Nadeem's house on Sunday night, watching him compete at the global competition and cheering the javelin thrower on as he won Pakistan its only medal at the competition.
"What a day! What a moment of joy for [Pakistan] @ArshadOlympian1," Kakar wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "You’ve made the nation happy and proud for your excellent sportsmanship that won you—and the country—a silver medal at the World Athletics championship."
https://twitter.com/anwaar_kakar/status/1696024210714296753
On Friday, Nadeem impressed all once again when he secured a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a remarkable 86.79-meter throw at the 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.
