Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has heaped praise on Arshad Nadeem for his historic gold medal and making their country proud in the Paris 2024 Olympics. The ex-Pakistan cricketer said he feels proud of how one man is trending in the whole world right now and it's from their country.
Nadeem stunned one and all as he scaled his best throw of 92.97 meters in the men's javelin throw final that started on August 8 (Thursday). By contrast, Neeraj, the defending champion's best throw was 89.45. As a result, Pakistan bagged their first Olympic gold in Javelin and also overtook India in the medals tally in this edition.
Speaking in a video uploaded on X, Akhtar hailed the 27-year-old as the 'son of the lion' and reflected how the moment has changed the mood of the entire nation.
"Out of nowhere, sher ke bacche ne Pakistan ko gold medal jita diya. Kya baat hai. Apne balboote pe, mehnat pe, tumne yeh jeet haasil ki hai. Toh bahut bahut mubaar rakho. Pakistan ko mubaar rakho. Pura mahaul change ho gaya Pakistan ka, ek gold medal hai aur woh hai ek hee banda pure duniya mein trend kar raha hai aur woh Arshad Nadeem hai."
(Out of nowhere, this son of a lion has won Pakistan a gold medal. What a man you are Arshad! You have achieved this on your own, with your own hard-work and calibre. Many congratulations to you Arshad, and the whole of Pakistan. The entire mood of the country has changed with 1 gold medal. Just because of one guy, Arshad, has got Pakistan trending across the whole world.)
Shoaib Akhtar reveals the story behind Arshad Nadeem's success:
The retired cricketer credited Rizwan and his national hospital for providing the requisite medical facilities to Nadeem, adding:
"Lekin iske peeche ek story hai. Rizwan aur national hospital, jinhone Arshad Nadeem ka ilaaj karwaaya. Rizwan ne unka yahan bhi ilaaj kiya aur England bhi bhijwaaya. Aur aaj woh finally, Nadeem, Rizwan, National hospital ki services ki mehnat ki vajah se gold aa gaya. Mera dil bahut khush hai. I'm so proud of you, Arshad."
(Arshad Nadeem's success has a story behind it, which is about Rizwan and the national hospital. Rizwan got Arshad treated and also got his surgery done, not only in Pakistan, but also sent him to England. And now Arshad won the gold medal. So so proud of you Arshad. This is not about one gold. Pakistan sent 7 athletes and now have 1 gold medal from them. Brilliant.)
