LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: After striking gold at the Paris Olympics, ace javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem landed at the Lahore airport in the small hours of Sunday morning to a rousing welcome by an ecstatic crowd that had gathered there to welcome the champion, who had ended Pakistan’s decades-long drought at the Games.

His arrival was preceded by an announcement from the presidency that the gold medallist would be awarded one of the highest state honours Hilal-i-Imtiaz for his record-breaking performance in Paris where he hurled a monstrous throw of 92.97 metres in men’s javelin throw.

Arriving on a Turkish flight, Mr Nadeem was wearing a green t-shirt and landed about 23 minutes after the scheduled time.

He was showered with petals and the fans celebrated his return to the tune of drumbeats and patriotic slogans.

Speaking to media persons, the Olympic winner said he was thankful to the entire nation for the support and to his coach for the preparations which made him able to break the record at the Olympics.

President to award Hilal-i-Imtiaz; special postage stamp to be issued; Arshad thanks nation for support

He said he was also thankful to his doctor Ali Sher Bajwa, Pakistan and Punjab sports boards, and Akram Sahi, former president of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan.

“There was a lot of hard work behind this achievement. I performed well at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and had hoped for a medal there but at that time I was not fully fit due to an elbow problem and could not excel, but even my fans and others gave me honour and respect. My doctor worked hard on my fitness problem while my coach Salman Butt also helped me a lot,” he said.

He said before the Paris competition, he was sent by the federation to the Diamond League which boosted his morale and brought him in good shape for the Paris Olympics.

A good number of people, including Arshad Nadeem’s former coach Fayyaz Bukhari and ace javelin thrower Yasir Ali, were present at the airport besides Mr Nadeem’s family and relatives from Mian Channu. Mr Ali, who won a silver medal at an Asian championship, said the record-breaking victory of Arshad Nadeem inspired him and gave a new lease of life to the sport in the country.

Special postage stamp

Besides Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Arshad Nadeem’s achiev­ement will be commemorated with a special postage stamp on August 14.

Meanwhile, the FBR rejected as baseless “misleading and disturbing” rumours that it is getting ready to tax the prize money received or to be received by Arshad Nadeem.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2024