Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem etched his name in Olympic history with a sensational performance in the men's javelin final. The 27-year-old shattered the Games record, securing the gold medal with a remarkable throw of 92.97 meters on his second attempt. This effort surpassed the previous Olympic record of 90.57 meters by a significant margin. While India's Neeraj Chopra delivered a season's best of 89.45 meters, it was insufficient to challenge Nadeem's dominance. No other competitor managed to breach the 90-meter mark on the night, solidifying Nadeem's gold medal victory.
Nadeem's dominance was evident throughout the competition as he concluded the series with an astonishing throw of 91.79 meters, surpassing the previous Olympic record once again. His victory marks a historic moment for Pakistan, as he became the first Pakistani to win an individual Olympic gold medal and the first Pakistani athlete to win an Olympic gold since the hockey team's triumph in 1984. The nation has showered Nadeem with accolades, culminating in a state banquet at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. During the event, Nadeem made a surprising revelation: he had competed with an injury during his record-breaking performance in Paris.
“Just five minutes before I had to go to the call room (the room where athletes in track and field events gather before their names are announced and they appear on the track), I felt a pain. I told my coach. And he said, ‘kuch nahi hota, tu sher hai (there will be no issues, you are a lion,'” Nadeem revealed.
Nadeem revealed that the injury occurred during a training session in Lahore prior to his departure for the Olympics.
“I had actually picked up an injury while throwing on 21st July when we were training at Punjab Stadium. We were supposed to fly on 24th July. We (coach, doctor and myself) didn’t tell anyone," he said.
Nadeem disclosed that he experienced pain following his initial foul throw in the competition.
“During the first throw, I felt some pain and the doctor applied some medicine. I told him I didn’t know if that would have any effect. The doctor also told me ‘tum sher ho’. Both the doctor and coach told me the same words.”
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Nadeem confidently stated that he was aware of surpassing the 90-meter mark the moment the javelin was released during his second attempt.
“In the warm-up throw, it crossed 82m then I knew I would be able to throw. But in the first throw my run-up was ruined twice. But in the second throw as soon as the javelin left my hand, I knew it was a 90+ throw. After that throw, I came to my coach and said we have gold and Olympic Record. Now let me try for world record,” Nadeem said.
In recognition of his historic Olympic gold medal, the Pakistani government bestowed upon Arshad Nadeem the prestigious Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the country's second-highest civilian award.
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