ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis took to social media platforms in the wee hours of Friday, flooding them with memes as Arshad Nadeem won the Olympic men’s javelin title in Paris, his country’s first individual gold at a Summer Games.
Nadeem threw an Olympic record of 92.97 meters for victory, India’s defending champion Neeraj Chopra taking silver with 89.45. Grenada’s Anderson Peters claimed bronze with 88.54m.
Pakistanis, from Nadeem’s native hometown to other parts of the world, had believed in his talent and cheered for his success at the Olympics and his fans flooded social media with funny and ironic memes as he claimed victory.
One popular post showed a clip from the popular TV show Game of Thrones, with a white walker throwing an ice spear to kill a dragon.
“That Arshad Nadeem Throw,” the X user wrote:
“Who would’ve known the cure to our collective hopelessness was watching a dude from Mian Chunnu hurl a spear across the sky,” an X user said, referring to Nadeem’s hometown in the eastern Punjab province.
Many memes focused on Nadeem’s triumph despite a lack of resources, funds and facilities for his sport in Pakistan.
While others had modern machines and workout routines, “King Arshad Nadeem got the power of Desi Ghee.”
As government officials sent congratulations to Nadeem, X users called them out for trying to take credit for his victory when he had hardly received state support.
One user showed Nadeem’s javelin throwing the prime minister to the moon.
Another posted a famous picture of former President Arif Alvi sleeping at an airport with the words: “PML N’s role in Arshad Nadeem’s victory,” referring to PM Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling party.
Users also made fun of Information Minister Ataullah Tarar for trying to take credit that Nadeem had been discovered at a youth festival arranged by his government in Punjab:
An Instagram user posted a collage of Nadeem and incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan’s picture from the 1992 cricket World Cup final, comparing the year “92” of Pakistan’s first-ever WC win with Nadeem’s 92.97 meters javelin throw.
Comparisons with the poor performance of the Pakistan cricket team, especially captain Babar Azam, were also found in plenty.
Users also posted memes of cricket players massaging and serving Nadeem.
