The Work and Pain That Resulted in Glory – The Journey of Arshad Nadeem

During the qualifying rounds for the Olympic javelin throw event, as Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra were competing, an Indian commentator said, “Arshad Nadeem has the one thing Neeraj doesn’t have: a 90m+ throw.” His broadcast partner, Sunil Taneja, cheekily responded, “Neeraj Chopra has the one thing all of Pakistan doesn’t have: an individual Olympic gold medal.” Little did they know what awaited them two days later in the Olympic javelin throw final.

Before we get to that, it would be remiss of us not to talk about what Arshad Nadeem had to go through to get to where he is today. The Mian Channu man has come a long way. In his early years, his brothers played a major role in helping him grow.

Shahid, his elder brother, said: “He was always a shy and quiet person who often kept to himself. We both knew he loved sports but never talked about it in public. We told him, ‘Don’t worry about money. We have jobs. We can support our household.’”

Later, Rasheed Ahmed Saqi, a former athlete himself, discovered Arshad at a local event. “It was a local competition that I had organised where I saw this slender kid who was making a big impression in athletics, especially in javelin and shot put. I noticed that he was strong. He was a good runner. So I thought if I could help him train, he could make a difference,” he said.

His current coach, Salman Iqbal Butt, is himself a former discus thrower and SAF Games silver medallist. Arshad particularly praised Butt for mentoring him like a father would, but the coach says it is all down to Arshad’s mental strength. “He is zen. He is calm. He is focused and no matter what setbacks he gets, he doesn’t let them linger. That is one of the most amazing things about Nadeem, and you can’t really teach that either,” his coach said.

As his father worked as a mason to cover the costs, Arshad was able to travel to Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore to train. In 2016, he was fortunate to receive a scholarship from World Athletics which allowed him to train at the IAAF High Performance Training Centre in Mauritius.

It was in February 2016 that we really began, with Nadeem winning a bronze medal at the South Asian Games in Guwahati, India. He then won another bronze at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in June 2016. Then came a bronze at the Islamic Solidarity Games in May 2017, and another bronze at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. In December 2019, he won his first gold medal with a record throw of 86.29 metres at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal.

Then the Olympics. It was from there that we first saw the little support he received from the sports federations, but also the unnecessary criticism he received. His father reportedly said that Arshad was not given adequate training facilities by those in power. He trained for his first Olympics in his own backyard.

Despite his 5th place finish in the event, which could be considered a relatively solid Olympic debut, the Pakistani contingent’s chef de mission felt it necessary to say that Arshad “lost due to excessive use of social media.” Which would be one of the first stupid treatments of this gem by big men in small offices. Another 5th place will follow at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, but he has continued to improve despite all the challenges.

By this point, he had developed a strong kinship with India’s Neeraj Chopra. Their story begins in Guwahati in 2016 and continues till date. Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem have shared the podium on several occasions and have participated in various competitions together. Apart from their first meeting in Guwahati, the two went on to compete together at the 2016 Asian Junior Championships, 2016 World U20 Athletics Championships, 2017 Asian Athletics Championships, 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2018 Asian Games, 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), 2022 and 2023 World Championships in Athletics. It was at the 2023 World Championships in Athletics that the two had their most iconic moment, where Neeraj won gold and Arshad won silver, leading to an iconic South Asian double.

It was both shocking and sadly predictable when you compare the way these two men were treated in their own countries. While Neeraj was given the best facilities and quality training that an athlete of his caliber would need, Arshad was often seen either nursing injuries he had sustained due to sheer negligence by the authorities or begging the government to provide him with proper training facilities.

Just a few months ago, Arshad Nadeem told the media: “We are now at the stage where the javelin is damaged, and I have asked the national federation and my coach to do something about it before the Paris Olympics.”

Fortunately, PSL franchise Multan Sultans started supporting him recently, and he was also sent to train in South Africa. It all culminated in a historic night at the Stade de France. Arshad, after committing a foul in his first attempt, managed a herculean throw of 92.97 metres, breaking the Olympic record and eventually winning gold, ending a 40-year wait. He also managed a throw of 91.79 metres in his final attempt, which now puts him second after his Olympic record among the longest javelin throws in modern Olympic history.

At the end of the day, I would just like to say that Arshad Nadeem’s historic feat, while being a cause for celebration, should also serve as a catalyst for our sporting culture to be improved and a proper system to be developed so that our athletes can be properly supported so that they are able to bring more glory to Pakistan.

Credit for research on parts of this article goes to Abid Hussain’s thread here.

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