‘Felt Pain During First Throw…’: Arshad Nadeem Reveals He was Carrying Injury During

Arshad Nadeem became the first track and field athlete from Pakistan to clinch an Olympic gold medal with his stunning 92.97m effort in the men’s javelin throw final, beating India’s Neeraj Chopra.

Nadeem’s gold was Pakistan’s first after 40 years since the men’s team won it in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

The javelin throw star revealed that he was managing an injury during his record-breaking performance at 2024 Paris Olympics.

“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 said.

“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 added.

The 27-year-old also revealed that he had felt some pain after a foul throw on his first attempt.

“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,” he said.

“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 added.

Arshad was rewarded with 10 million rupees and a brand new car by the Punjab government. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz handed him the cash prize and the car keys when she visited Nadeem’s village in Mian Chunnu to meet him and his family.

Pakistan will honour the ace athlete Arshad Nadeem with Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest award of the country and also also directed for a commemorative stamp titled ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ (commitment to stability).

(With inputs from Agencies)