Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem celebrates his ‘gold and glory’ with the national flag, after winning the men’s javelin final with a record-breaking throw at the Paris Olympics.
Reuters
A galaxy of Pakistani sports heroes is waiting for the man of the moment to arrive.
The sports stars include legends like Jahangir Khan, Shahbaz Ahmed and Islahuddin and current crowd-pullers like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi.
Walks in Arshad Nadeem, the first superstar in Pakistan sports, who is not a cricketer or a hockey player.
The event was hosted by the Pakistan Army Chief at the GHQ in Rawalpindi where Arshad’s record-breaking Olympic gold, Pakistan’s first individual Olympic title, was celebrated.
The GHQ event was one in a long list of celebrations that have taken place all over Pakistan.
It’s been two months since Arshad created history in Paris with a stunning throw of the javelin (92.97m) but he continues to be the biggest draw in Pakistan sports.
So, what’s Olympic champion doing these days?
Speaking to Nukta, Arshad said he is focusing on his sleep which had been disturbed due to his hectic engagements following his Olympic success.
“Yes, these days I mostly focus on my sleep. I really need it to regain my peace of mind. You know it was a busy schedule after the Paris Olympics due to various event and I did not get proper rest which is direly needed,” Arshad said from Mian Channu.
He was also set to leave for Islamabad to attend yet another reception, this time at the French embassy.
Asked that the burden of attending various programs from the public and corporate sector would have been reduced now, Arshad said: “Just a little bit.”
What’s next for Arshad?
When asked about his training plans, Arshad said that he will resume it either in the last week of this month or first week of November.
“Hopefully, I will return to training at the end of this month or first week of next month,” Arshad said.
Arshad’s biggest target is to win gold at next year’s World Athletics Championships which will be held in Tokyo in September. The global event is usually held in August but it has been rescheduled because of harsh weather.
Arshad won silver at last year’s World Championships in Budapest with a throw of 87.82m.
But before the Tokyo event, Arshad is likely to make his international return by featuring in the Diamond League which gets underway next April.
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan celebrates with coach Salman Butt after breaking the Olympic record to win the gold medal at the Paris Games on August 08, 2024.Reuters
His coach Salman Butt told Nukta in an interview that Arshad will definitely make maximum possible appearances during the Diamond League season.
Arshad has so far claimed gold medals in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Islamic Games. However, he is yet to clinch titles in the Asian Games and the World Championship which would be the two main targets of him in the coming years.
During a recent talk with reporters at a corporate event in Lahore he expressed his desire to set a world record.
Pakistan’s No.2 javelin thrower Yasir Sultan will also be making his best effort to qualify for the World Championships. If he succeeds then it would be the first time in Pakistan’s athletics history that two of their athletes will be featuring in the global event.
Yasir has been training at Lahore’s Punjab Stadium consistently under his coach Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari. Yasir’s best throw is 79.93m which he had managed in 2023 in Bangkok where he won a bronze medal. He finished fourth in last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games. He also tried to make the cut for the Paris Olympics but he failed to do so in a qualifier in South Korea just before the Olympics.
Yasir will need to manage a throw of 85.50m if he is to make it to the World Championship in Tokyo.
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