Arshad Nadeem is Pakistani javelin thrower,He is the reigning Olympic and Common wealth Games champion.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.He ended a long drought for Pakistan at the Olympics 2024. The last time the country won a medal at the Olympics was in 1992 edition. Javelin thrower Nadeem ended the long wait with an Olympic record of 92.97m. to take home the gold medal ahead of India's Neeraj Chopra, who won the silver with his season best throw of 89.45m. After the Olympic feat, Arshad Nadeem has been showered with cash prizes but there was a time when he struggled for funds.
Despite finishing a creditable fifth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and winning the gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Nadeem often struggled for funds. He even won a silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Despite that, he had to ask for donations to buy a new javelin ahead of the Paris Games. According to The Nation, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stepped in to sponsor him that helped him with his training, equipment.
Since returning home with Pakistan's first gold in the Olympics since 1984, Nadeem has been showered with cash prizes worth around 280 million, cars and other gifts. In the latest instance, the Governor Punjab on Saturday gave him a cash prize of two million rupees and a car.
But beyond such personal gifts, Nadeem wanted the government to fulfill his request for a modernised track and field stadium and a university for women in his hometown – Mian Channu.
His mother is example for an ideal mother ,she expressed her affection for Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra, whom she described as both a friend and a brother to her son. "Woh bhi mere bete jaisa hai. Woh Nadeem ka dost bhi hai, bhai bhi hai (He is like a son to me. He is Nadeem's friend and also like a brother)," Parveen shared with Pakistani media, revealing that she had been praying for both athletes' success.