LAHORE: Paris Olympics gold medallist in the men’s javelin throw event, Arshad Nadeem received a grand welcome after landing in Pakistan on Sunday.
Arshad broke the Olympic record with a mammoth throw of 92.97m to beat his arch-rival Neeraj Chopra for the gold medal.
Arshad received a hero’s welcome after arriving at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport. His family along with top officials including the provincial and federal ministers came to the airport to give Arshad a memorable welcome after his memorable triumph in Paris.
According to Geo News, Arshad was welcomed with a water cannon salute at the airport. On behalf of the government, Federal Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Prime Minister Youth Program Chairman Rana Mashhood, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima and Khawaja Saad Rafique welcomed Arshad at the airport.
“Due to the prayers of his parents and the nation, Allah brought me to this position. There is a long journey behind this success. [I] worked hard day and night to get the medal. I’m very happy to win a gold medal [for my country] during the [Paris] Olympics,” Arshad told reporters at the airport as quoted from Geo News.
Geo News reported that Arshad left the airport in a double-decker bus for his hometown with the police escorting the bus.
Arshad won Pakistan’s first medal since the 1992 Barcelona Games and their first in an individual sport in an individual sport.
President Asif Ali Zardari directed that Arshad was to be awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, which is the second-highest civilian award given by the Government of Pakistan.
“The president will confer the civilian award to Nadeem in a special ceremony, recognising his distinguished services in the field of sports,” a statement from the Aiwan-e-Sadr said, as quoted by Geo News.
It was also reported that a special postage stamp was issued by the federal government themed ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’.
Arshad bagged the historic gold for Pakistan with a throw of 92.97m, setting a new Olympic record and surpassing Denmark’s Andreas Thorkildsen’s mark from Beijing 2008. Grenada’s Anderson Peters secured bronze with a throw of 88.54 meters.
The Tokyo medallist defender Neeraj fell short of retaining his title, finishing with a best throw of 89.45 meters in the second spot. Despite a strong performance on his second attempt, he struggled with four consecutive foul throws and settled for a silver. (ANI)