Pakistan's track and field athlete Arshad Nadeem has been a nationwide sensation ever since he broke their 32-year-drought of an Olympic gold in Paris recently. However, the 27-year-old has grabbed eyeballs as his conversation with UN designated terrorist organisation Lashkar-E-Taib's leader Harris Dhar due to which a section of netizens have criticised him.
Nadeem registered a world-record throw of 92.97 meters in the Men's Javelin throw final on his way to bagging gold in the event. Although the 27-year-old's Indian counterpart Neeraj Chopra started as a firm favourite to win successive gold, his best was 89.35 meters. With both athletes sharing good camaraderie with one another, they paid respects to one another.
Nadeem received grand welcome when he landed at the Lahore airport, with the government also arranging a victory parade for him. In addition, Nadeem will also received Pakistan's highest civil award, PKR 153 million rupees and gold crown for his heroics in Paris.
"I was even confident of throwing beyond 92.97m" - Arshad Nadeem
Following his performance, Nadeem thanked everyone who kept him in their prayers and credited his fitness for the performance he gave. He also vowed to work harder moving forward and target throwing breaking his own record. As quoted by NDTV, he stated:
"I am thankful to the nation. Everyone prayed for me, and I was hopeful of doing well. Over the years, I got a knee injury and recovered, and worked hard on my fitness. I was even confident of throwing beyond 92.97m, but that throw was enough for me to get the gold. I will continue to work hard and give my best in the days and months to come. I am planning to throw beyond this mark as well."