Arshad Nadeem became Pakistan’s first individual Olympic gold medalist after throwing the javelin with a distance of 92.97 m, relegating India’s Neeraj Chopra to second place.
Karachi: While Pakistan has been showering its Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem with cash and other valuable prizes, his father-in-law has decided to gift the burly javelin thrower a buffalo as it fits well with his rural upbringing and traditions. Muhammad Nawaz told local media in Nadeem’s village on Sunday that gifting a buffalo is considered “very valuable” and “honourable” in their village. Nadeem won the javelin in Paris with an Olympic record of 92.97 metres, relegating India’s Neeraj Chopra to second place.
“Nadeem is also very proud of his roots and despite his success, his village is still his home and he still lives with his parents and brothers,” said Nawaz. The father-in-law added that he has four sons and three daughters and his youngest daughter, Ayesha, is married to Nadeem.
Nawaz also revealed that the couple has two sons and a daughter. Hailing from the rural area of Khanewal in Punjab, Nadeem had very limited funds to train and travel abroad for competitions. Villagers and relatives donated money to enable him to compete abroad in his early days.
Nawaz also said that when he decided to marry his daughter to Nadeem, he was a man of limited means but had the hunger to succeed in the sport, for which he trained in the fields of his village. “When we decided to marry our daughter to Nadeem six years ago, he was doing small jobs and running errands at that time, but he was extremely passionate about his sport and constantly practiced javelin throwing at home and in the fields,” Nawaz said.
Nawaz added that he is very happy about Nadeem’s success and fame and that the javelin thrower, who became the country’s first individual medalist to win a medal, is very respectful towards everyone. “When he comes to our house, he never complains about anything and eats whatever is available at our house,” he said.
“Two of his children now attend the local primary school in the village, while one son is still very young.”
