Arshad Nadeem attributes nation for javelin victory ahead of arrival in Lahore
A Day after striking gold in the javelin final at the Asian Athletics Championship, javelin phenom Arshad Nadeem on Sunday thanked the nation for its support and prayers, dedicating the win to Pakistan.
Yesterday, Arshad returned to international competition and won a gold medal with a throw of 86.40 metres in the men’s javelin final in Gumi, South Korea. India’s Sachin Yadav took silver with an 85.16m and Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama took home bronze with an 83.75m throw. Both athletes threw a personal best.
In a post on Instagram today, Nadeem said: “It is because of all your prayers that Allah made me successful in the finals, and gave respect to Pakistan, when I won gold at the Asian Athletics Championship.
Nadeem, who holds the Olympic record after a monstrous 92.97-metre throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics, delivered a performance just short of the Asian Championship record, which stands at 86.72 metres.
In his message today, the star javelin thrower said that it was the results of the nation’s prayers and the hard work of his and his coach, Salman Iqbal Butt.
“This was my first competition since the Paris Olympics, and Allah gave victory to Pakistan,” he stated.
Nadeem said that he would land at the Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport at 10:20pm tonight.
It is pertinent to mention here that Nadeem became the first Pakistani in over 50 years to win a gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships, marking Pakistan’s first gold since 1973 when the country last claimed top honours in javelin throw and 800 meters — won by Allah Dada and Muhammad Younis, respectively, during the event in the Philippines.
He is also Pakistan’s first-ever individual Olympic gold medalist and the nation’s first medalist in athletics at the Summer Games.
So far, he has won four golds, one silver, and four bronze medals in various events, including the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Islamic Solidarity Games, South Asian Games, and Asian U20 Championships.
