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Arshad Nadeem

Neeraj Chopra’s Mother Called Arshad Nadeem “Like My Son”, Pakistan Star’s Reply Is Viral

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Neeraj Chopra (L) and Arshad Nadeem at the Paris Olympics 2024© AFP




Pakistan’s javelin throw star Arshad Nadeem had a heartwarming message for Neeraj Chopra’s mother after she said that he was “like her son”. Nadeem scripted history by becoming the first athlete from Pakistan to win an individual Olympics gold medal as he claimed the top prize in men’s javelin at the Paris Olympics 2024. Nadeem came up with a mammoth 92.97m throw to break the Olympic record and it was enough to beat Neeraj who could only manage to win silver with his season-best throw of 89.45m. Following the event, Neeraj’s mother – Saroj Devi – was asked about Nadeem and she said that he is also like a son to her. Nadeem responded to her statement and said that he was grateful for the fact that she prayed for him as well and said that she is also like a mother to him.

“A mother is a mother for everyone, so she prays for everyone too. I’m grateful to Neeraj Chopra’s mother. Woh bhi meri maa hai (She’s my mother too). She prayed for us, and we were just two players from South Asia who performed on the world stage,” Nadeem told Pakistani media after returning home.

Pakistan will honour the ace athlete Arshad Nadeem with Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second-highest award of the country, for his stupendous feat at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.

The government also directed for a commemorative stamp titled ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ (commitment to stability) to be issued on the occasion of the 77th Independence Day next week.

The 27-year-old won the gold at the elite men’s javelin throw competition with a mammoth 92.97 m throw on Thursday at Paris which broke the Olympic record of 90.57 m set at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. It is the first individual gold in 40 years for the country.

Following the directive by President Asif Ali Zardari, his office sent a letter to the Cabinet Division for the formal conferment of the award, according to state media.

“Arshad Nadeem’s remarkable performance has made the nation proud on the global stage. His outstanding success in athletics is a source of pride for the country,” President Zardari stated in his letter.

(With PTI inputs)

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“Delete Picture”: Ex Pakistan Star Slams PM Shehbaz Sharif For ‘Insulting’ Arshad Nadeem

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Pakistan has found a new hero in Arshad Nadeem. The athlete’s gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 earned the nation an unprecedented high, becoming the only Olympian in the nation’s history to bag the gold medal in an individual sport. After returning home, Nadeem had the chance to meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who presented him with a cash reward of PKR 1 million (approximately INR 3 lakh). Seeing Arshad get such a low amount from the Pakistan PM as a reward for his heroics in the Paris Games, the country’s former cricketer Danish Kaneria lashed out on social media.

“Bravo Arshad. History made! Pakistan’s first Olympic men’s javelin champion, Arshad Nadeem @ArshadOlympian1 brings home a historic #gold medal at #Paris2024 ! You’ve made the whole nation proud young man,” the Pakistan PM had posted on X.

Kaneria feels such a low cash reward is an ‘insult’ to both Arshad and Pakistan.

“Mr. Prime Minister, at least offer a graceful congratulations. Delete the picture of the million rupees you gave-it does nothing for his real needs. This amount is so small he can’t even afford air tickets. It’s an insult to both Arshad and the nation, considering his ongoing struggles,” Kaneria wrote on X, reacting to the post.

Having brought glory to Pakistan, Arshad is bound to remain in the spotlight for some time. Hoping to make the most of the situation, the athlete has asked the Pakistan government to provide his village with better roads, cooking gas connection,s and other basic facilities.

“My village needs roads. If the government provides cooking gas, it would be great for me and my village. I also have a dream that Mian Channu city gets a university so that our sisters won’t have to travel to Multan, which is 1.5 to 2 hours away, to study. If the government makes a university here it would be a great news for my village and the neighbouring ones,” Arshad told reporters in Pakistan.

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Arshad Nadeem Gets Hero’s Welcome In Pakistan, Set To Receive Hilal-e-Imtiaz For Olympics Gold

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Arshad Nadeem got a hero’s welcome upon return home© X (Twitter)




The Javelin Throw gold medallist in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, is set to be honoured with Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the country’s government. Hilal-e-Imtiaz is the second-highest civilian award given by the Government of Pakistan and Nadeem will get this award following his brilliant performance in the final of the competition. Pakistan’s athlete won gold with a throw of 92.97 meters, setting a new Olympic record and surpassing Denmark’s Andreas Thorkildsen’s mark from Beijing 2008. Grenada’s Anderson Peters secured bronze with a throw of 88.54 meters.

“The president will confer the civilian award to Nadeem in a special ceremony, recognising his distinguished services in the field of sports,” a statement from the Aiwan-e-Sadr said, as quoted by Geo News.

India’s Neeraj Chopra fell short of retaining his gold medal, finishing with a best throw of 89.45 meters. Despite a strong performance on his second attempt, he struggled with four consecutive foul throws, which prevented him from winning gold.

Chopra became the second male athlete from post-independence India to win two Olympic medals in an individual event.

Following the failure to defend his gold medal, Neeraj expressed dissatisfaction with his performance and revealed that the last two to three years were not good for him in terms of fitness.

Speaking after the event, as quoted by Olympics.com, Neeraj said, “It was a good throw but I am not that happy with my performance today. My technique and runway was not that good. (I managed) only one throw, the rest I fouled.”

“(For my) second throw, I believed in myself to think I can also throw that far. But in javelin, if your run is not so good, you cannot throw very far,” added Neeraj.

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Will Arshad Nadeem be joining politics anytime soon?

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LAHORE:

Arshad Nadeem, the national hero who won gold at the Paris Olympics, received a rapturous welcome upon his arrival in Lahore. His flight landed at 1:25 AM, greeted by a water cannon salute, while thousands of fans gathered at the airport to catch a glimpse of their hero.

The atmosphere was electric, with a band playing tunes to heighten the excitement, as the crowd danced to the beat of drums, showered flowers, and took selfies in celebration.

When asked by a journalist about entering politics, Arshad firmly stated that his focus would remain on his sport, as politics was not his calling.

Speaking to the media, Arshad expressed his gratitude, attributing his success to Allah’s blessings and the prayers of the nation and his parents. He reflected on the long and arduous journey that led to this victory, emphasizing the relentless efforts required to win the medal.

Arshad Nadeem, who ended a 40-year wait for an Olympic gold medal for Pakistan, was honoured with an unprecedented reception upon his return.

Notably, he set a new Olympic record in the javelin throw, achieving a distance of 92.97 meters, becoming the first Pakistani athlete to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Olympics.

 

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Organisations In Pakistan Slammed For Taking Credit On Arshad Nadeem’s Historic Olympic Gold Medal

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Achieved in the backdrop of systemic failure and administrative apathy, only Arshad Nadeem knows about the struggles he faced and sacrifices he made on his way to winning a historic Olympic gold medal in Paris. But back home in Pakistan, the ones who were supposed to provide him with way more than what he eventually got are busy taking credit for his landmark success. The list incudes the Pakistan Sports Board, Inter Provincial Coordination Ministry (sports), and the government.

The attempts to take credit come despite the fact that just a few months before the Paris Olympics, Nadeem had to request that he be provided with a new javelin as his old one had become worn out after years of use.

Compared to the other athletes who took part in the Paris Olympic javelin throw finals including Indian superstar Neeraj Chopra, Nadeem did not get to train under the best coaches or compete consistently in international events because of shortage of funds.

Prior to the Olympics, he also underwent a knee surgery and was left with no option but to train in oppressive heat at the Punjab Sports Complex with dozens of other amateur athletes.

But that has not stopped the government, the state-run Pakistan Sports Board, the Pakistan Olympic Association, and even Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif from taking credit for his success.

The premier was the first to congratulate Nadeem but what has left Pakistanis surprised is the claim that it was his vision which allowed him to be groomed for the ultimate medal.

A video, released immediately after the javelin throw finals by the PMO, shows the premier jumping up and clapping after Nadeem’s success with the minister for sports in Punjab telling him, “Sir yeh aap ka vision tha, aapne isko chance diya” (Sir this was your vision, you gave him a chance).” He was referring to the Punjab games being held during the time when Shahbaz was chief minister of the province.

The PSB wasn’t far behind in taking credit, claiming it provided every support to Nadeem and even spent 10 million rupees on his surgery besides giving cash awards.

The PSB, which is responsible for distributing funds to all national federations that are allocated by the government in its annual budget, has also noted that it provided a 70 million rupees annual grant to the Pakistan Amateur Athletics Federation.

“The PSB and the Pakistan Olympics Association really need to take a hard look at themselves for what they are really doing to support and encourage non-cricket athletes in the country instead of making big claims,” said a disgruntled member of the POA.

Pakistan’s squash legend Jahangir Khan said that as a sportsman he knows how much hard work, sacrifices, sweat, blood and tears go into winning individual medals.

“In individual sports you are fighting with yourself to gain success,” he said.

“If our sports system was functioning properly we would be producing more world class athletes given the raw talent we have,” he noted.

Interestingly Pakistan sports still remains without a functioning government policy despite tall claims. Every time the government has changed and a new sports minister has come in, policies have changed.

A multi-sports city launched in 2009 by former federal minister Ahsan Iqbal in his home town of Narowal and on which billions of government funds were spent, is yet to be completed and open for athletes.

In the last two federal budgets the amount allocated for sports has been reduced with the government bringing down the amount to 1.9 billion from 3.4 billion a year earlier.

The limited sports complexes in the country remain in dire need of proper maintenance.

To make matters worse the politics in Pakistan’s sports system has seen parallel national Olympic committees, football federations, athletics federations etc., which has only made life difficult for athletes.

“Look if Arshad’s olympic gold medal cannot turn things around for non-cricketing athletes in the country now, then nothing is going to change in Pakistan sports,” former football star Essa Khan said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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When Neeraj Chopra Supported Arshad Nadeem’s Plea For A New Javelin, Government Funds

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Paris Olympics 2024: Arshad Nadeem (L) and Neeraj Chopra© X (Twitter)




Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem created history by becoming the first athlete from his country to win an Olympic gold medal. The 27-year-old broke the men’s javelin Olympic record with his 92.97m attempt to beat India’s Neeraj Chopra to the gold. It was a massive moment. This was the first time in the history of the Olympics that Asian athletes claimed the top two podium positions but the connection between Nadeem and Neeraj goes way back. Both of them have been competing against each other for quite some time and at the World Championships 2023. it was Neeraj who claimed the gold with Nadeem coming second. Over the years, both of them have expressed their appreciation for each other and Neeraj even voiced his support for Nadeem when he needed a new javelin for practice.

Nadeem won the Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medal with a 90.18m throw but his preparations for the Olympics were hampered as he did not have an international standard javelin. He said that he  has been “using one for the past seven to eight years” and asked for help from the government.

“It has now got to a stage where the javelin is damaged and I have asked the national federation and my coach to do something about it before the Paris Olympics,” Nadeem said.

“When I started off in 2015, competing in international events I got this javelin…for an international athlete aiming to win a medal in the Olympic Games, you need proper equipment and training facilities,” the athlete from Pakistan added.

Neeraj extended his support for Nadeem after hearing about his concerns and urged the Pakistan government, javelin makers and other sponsors to support him in his journey.

“It is hard to believe that he has been struggling to get a new javelin. Given his credentials, this should not be a big issue at all,” Neeraj told SAI Media in an interaction.

“It can’t be that he (Arshad) doesn’t have the means to buy a javelin. He is a champion and must be doing some brand endorsements. I reckon he has earned a bit of money too. But having said that, his government can look at Arshad’s needs and support him just like how my government is doing so.”

“Additionally, Arshad is a top javelin thrower and I believe that the javelin makers will be more than happy to sponsor him and provide what he wants. This is a piece of advice from my side,” he added.

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After Neeraj Chopra’s Mother Called Arshad Nadeem ‘Her Son’, Pakistan Star’s Mom Wins Hearts

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There could be constant talks of rivalry between Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra in the sporting spectrum but there’s nothing but love between the two. After Arshad and Neeraj secured a 1-2 finish in the Paris Olympics javelin throw final, social media was flooded by the stories of their camaraderie. In fact, Neeraj’s mother Saroj even said that Arshad is also like her son. Now, Arshad’s mother has echoed the same sentiments, saying she sees Neeraj the same way as she sees her own son. 

“He is also like my son. He is Nadeem’s friend and also his brother. Wins and losses are part of the sport. May god bless him, may he win medals. They are like brothers, I’ve prayed for Neeraj too,” Arshad’s mother said in an interview. 

“I am thankful to entire Pakistan for the support they lent to Nadeem, the prayers they offered for my son.”

While Arshad became the first athlete in Pakistan’s history to clinch a gold medal in an individual event, Neeraj became only the third Indian and the first in track and field to win back-to-back individual Olympic medals.

“We are very happy with the silver, the one who got gold is also our child and the one who got silver is also our child….all are athletes, all work hard,” Saroj told PTI Videos in Khandra, Panipat, where the family is based.

“Nadeem is also good, he plays well, there is no difference between Neeraj and Nadeem. We got gold and silver there is no difference for us,” she added in the interview.

Both Chopra and Nadeem are good friends off the field despite being rivals on it. Neeraj, in fact, has lent a helping hand to Nadeem, supported him on multiple occasions.

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