Pakistan’s javelin ace Arshad Nadeem, who rose to prominence for bringing honour to the country by securing a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, continues to be a source of inspiration.
Nadeem, who triumphed over India’s Neeraj Chopra in the javelin event at last year’s Olympics, has now been commended for his resilience and perseverance by none other than India’s official Olympic Instagram account.
“Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up,” reads the caption of a post on India’s official Olympic account on Instagram, which shared a motivational video highlighting Nadeem’s journey from the Tokyo Olympics 2020 to his glorious achievement last year.
The video showcases the Pakistani athlete’s performance in the javelin throw event at the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, where he successfully qualified for the final but ultimately missed out on winning a medal for the country.
India’s Chopra, at that time, secured first place with a throw of 87.58m, winning a historic gold medal for the country in the athletics category.
In the said Instagram post, Nadeem is seen visibly disappointed after his heartbreak at the Tokyo Olympics, but the video then transitions to the unforgettable scenes from the Paris 2024 Olympics, showing the jubilant and clearly emotional Pakistani athlete raising his arms and accepting the gold medal, a result of his massive 92.97-metre throw — which also established a new Olympic record.
The post acknowledges and celebrates Nadeem for not giving up on his dreams and demonstrating exceptional resilience and perseverance to remain dedicated to his objective until he finally achieved it last year.
The video is presented against the backdrop of the Pakistani athlete lacking essential support and infrastructure, and even lacking a proper ground for practice while preparing for the Tokyo Olympics.
Nevertheless, despite receiving offers from various countries to relocate and represent them, Nadeem chose to proudly wear the Pakistani flag and went on to not only represent Pakistan at the Paris Olympics 2024 but also win a gold medal for the nation.
