Arshad Nadeem has received a plethora of cash prizes and other valuable rewards after making history as the first athlete from Pakistan to win an Olympic gold medal with his impressive throw of 92.97m in the men’s javelin final Olympic Games Paris 2024. He is the first Pakistani to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event and the first from the country to win Olympic gold since his hockey team did so in 1984. However, his father-in-law presented the gold medalist with a buffalo as a gift that caught everyone’s attention.
While talking to ARY News, he broke his silence about the buffalo gift and his hilarious reaction to it went viral on social media.
“She (his wife) told me: I said buffalo? He should have given me 5-6 acres of land, but buffaloes are also fine. By the grace of God, he is so rich and he gave me a buffalo,” he said.
In fact, in rural areas of Pakistan, giving a buffalo as a gift is considered “very valuable” and “honorable”.
Nadeem began the final with a foul. He then produced a record-breaking 92.97m, setting a new Olympic record. He again surpassed the 90m on his sixth attempt, reaching 91.79m. Neeraj’s highest throw was 89.45m, which he achieved on his second attempt, but he struggled with four consecutive fouls. Anderson Peters of Grenada secured the bronze medal with a throw of 88.54m. After the win, he returned to his hometown of Mian Chunnu in Pakistan’s Punjab province on August 11 to a hero’s welcome.
Nadeem triumphed over India’s star Neeraj Chopra at the summit clash. As far as their head-to-head matches are concerned, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem have faced each other in 10 international events so far. Eight of these have been senior competitions while the other two have been at the junior level. Chopra has a 9-1 advantage in their encounters.
