Arshad Nadeem, an Olympic gold winner, was awarded Rs 100 million ($359,049) and a vehicle in recognition of his recent victory in an international event by CM Punjab on Tuesday.
Nadeem made waves last Thursday when he won Pakistan’s first solo gold medal in the men’s javelin throw sport at the Paris Olympics 2024. He threw the javelin 92.97 meters, setting a new Olympic record, and knocking previous Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra into second place.
Following Nadeem’s Olympic victory, Pakistani officials offered monetary awards and honors for the top javelin thrower. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab announced a financial reward of Rs50,000,000 [$179,524] for Nadeem and pledged to create an athletics academy named after the Olympian.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday that Nadeem will receive the country’s highest civilian accolade, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, at a special ceremony.
Chief Minister Sharif came to visit Arshad Nadeem’s residence in the eastern city of Mian Channu, Khanewal district and was greeted warmly. Sharif met Nadeem’s family at his home and took photographs with them.
“Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif presented a cheque for Rs100 million and the keys to a Honda Civic car “92.97” to Nadeem,” the governing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, of which Sharif is a prominent member, posted on social networking site X.
The chief minister also gave Nadeem’s coach, Salman Iqbal Butt, a cheque for Rs5 million [$17,952], and praised him for teaching the Pakistani star javelin thrower.
Arshad Nadeem is the son of a day worker who has never had access to adequate training facilities. His brother informed the international news agency Reuters that he and Nadeem began training with improvised, handmade javelins constructed from long eucalyptus branches with iron spikes.
The great athlete was still practising with subpar javelins months before the Paris Olympics, but a last-minute request prompted the Pakistani government to finance his equipment.
Maria Ghanchi