History-making Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem is quite pleased that his rivalry with Indian star Neeraj Chopra is becoming as talked about as the cricket battles between the two rival neighbors as he believes it will fuel the sporting ambition of young people from both nations. Nadeem defeated Chopra for the first time in 11 head-to-head meetings to win the Olympic gold medal with a sensational Games record of 92.97m on Thursday night. Chopra won silver with a season’s best shot of 89.45 m, adding another chapter to their historic rivalry.
“Rivalry definitely exists when it comes to cricket matches and other sports. But at the same time, it is good that the youth of both countries who play a sport follow us and follow their sporting icons and bring laurels to their countries,” 27-year-old Nadeem told reporters after becoming the first Pakistani to win an individual Olympic gold medal.
He is also Pakistan’s first individual medalist since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where boxer Hussain Shah won bronze in the middleweight division.
Nadeem and Chopra, despite being fierce competitors on the field, are good friends off it. A few months ago, when Nadeem made an appeal on social media for funds to buy a quality javelin, Chopra was among those who came forward to offer his support.
Nadeem, standing over six feet tall, was the underdog in Thursday night’s final, where Chopra entered as the top seed.
But the Pakistani, who won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with an effort of over 90m, stunned the high-quality field with two throws that measured over 90m, one of them being a new Olympic record, previously held by Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen , which reached 90.57 million at the 2008 Beijing Games.
“I am grateful to the nation. Everyone prayed for me and I was hopeful that I would do well. Over the years, I suffered a knee injury, recovered and worked hard to improve my fitness. I was even confident of bowling beyond 92 .97m, but that throw was enough for me to get the gold,” said Nadeem about his performance.
“I will continue to work hard and do my best in the coming days and months. I am planning to go beyond that mark as well.”
Nadeem also shed light on his formative years and revealed that he started out as a cricketer, before trying his hand at table tennis, but ended up playing javelin after being told he had the talent for it.
“I was a cricket player, I played table tennis and I also participated in athletics events. But my coach told me that I have a very good physique for javelin throwing and I focused on javelin throwing only from 2016,” he said.
“People think my technique is more like a fast thrower than a javelin thrower, but I’m happy with that action and the acceleration I use. This is due to my initial strength as a cricket bowler,” he joked.
Hailing from Khanewal village in the Punjab region, Nadeem’s training was initially supported by his village and he said the support helped him stay strong while achieving new milestones for his country.
“I come from a farming village and every time I win a medal I think about my origins and that motivates me to do better. That’s why I stay humble and that’s why I want to be more successful.
“I had to go through very difficult times to get to this stage,” he admitted.
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