From living in a mud brick house to standing atop the Olympic podium, the story of Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem will inspire millions. The javelin thrower scripted history when his throw of 92.97 metres secured the gold medal at the ongoing Paris Games. Arshad, who hails from a small village named Mia Channu, has presented the country with its first Olympic medal since 1992. He is also the third athlete from Pakistan to win an individual medal of any colour at the showpiece event. Crazy celebrations broke out in his village after Arshad triumphed in the men’s javelin throw competition in Paris.
Locals were seen dancing to the beats of drums in front of his residence, with fireworks lighting up the sky. Drawing attention to his early life and struggle, a Pakistani journalist shared a few pictures of Arshad Nadeem’s house in a rural area of the central Pakistani region of Khanewal. One of those photos captured their kitchen where some of his family members and relatives were cooking in a mud oven.
This is the house of Olympic Champion #ArshadNadeem in Mian Channu #Pakistan – from Mian Channu to Paris — only he knows about his struggle! Arshad Nadeem deserves much more! pic.twitter.com/GQ1wFUUvS0— Shiraz Hassan (@ShirazHassan) August 9, 2024
The caption of the X post read, “This is the house of Olympic Champion Arshad Nadeem in Mian Channu in Pakistan — from Mian Channu to Paris — only he knows about his struggle! Arshad Nadeem deserves much more!”
Arshad Nadeem used to struggle for basic amenities like water and electricity supplies when he first dreamt of representing Pakistan at the Olympic Games. He didn’t have proper facilities to practice javelin throw in his village.
According to his oldest brother Shahid Nadeem, Arshad first started training with homemade javelins, which he later improvised by “using long eucalyptus branches with iron tips on their ends.”
“The fields in our village served as our training ground. We developed our weight training apparatus by using iron rods, canisters of oil and concrete,” his brother revealed during an interaction with Reuters.
The situation changed after Arshad Nadeem joined Wapda, a local power utility where he got sports facilities. He had been practising with sub-standard javelins ahead of the Paris Olympics. Later, the Pakistani government stepped in to offer him help.
“The government-sponsored javelins and other facilities for him. He brought back three new international standard javelins from South Africa,” Arshad’s mother Razia Parveen told Reuters.
While Arshad Nadeem won his first Olympic medal in the French capitals, the reigning champion, India’s Neeraj Chopra finished second with an 89.45-metre throw. Grenada’s Anderson Peters settled for the bronze medal after logging 88.54 metres.
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