LAHORE: When Arshad Nadeem won gold in the men’s javelin and defeated reigning champion Neeraj Chopra of India’s bitter rival, his home village exploded into joyous celebrations. This was Pakistan’s first Olympic medal in athletics.
Given that Nadeem was compelled to train in the local wheat fields as a young man using homemade javelins and that he was raised in a mud brick home in a poor area of rural Pakistan, his victory on Thursday in Paris is all the more remarkable.
When the news of his victory arrived in Pakistan late at night, it excited his fellow countrymen, eliciting congratulations from the country’s authorities and causing celebratory dancing and fireworks in his otherwise tranquil home hamlet of Mian Channu.According to his older brother Shahid Nadeem, “we have not been able to sleep since last night because relatives, the media, friends, fans, and state functionaries are constantly visiting us to congratulate the family,” he told Reuters on Friday.
The majority of Pakistan’s meagre sports funding goes toward team sports like hockey and cricket.
