E-Paper
‘Mere bete ka bhai’: Pak Olympian Arshad Nadeem's mother showers love on Neeraj Chopra
Arshad Nadeem secured Pakistan's first Olympic medal in 32 years and its first Olympic gold in 40 years.
Mother of Arshad Nadeem, who gave Pakistan its first Olympics medal after 32 years, said Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra is her son's friend and brother and was also praying for him also.
“Wo (Neeraj chopra) mere bete ka dost bhi hai aur bhai bhi. Main donu ke liye duaien kar rahi thi. Haar jeet to kismat ki baat hai. (Winning or losing is a matter of destiny. He (Neeraj Chopra) is both a friend and a brother to my son. I was praying for both of them)”Arshad Nadeem's mother Raziah Parveen told Independent Urdu.
She said that Arshad had promised her he would perform well, travel abroad, win a medal and make Pakistan proud.
Despite training with outdated equipment and limited access to gyms and facilities compared to his international competitors, Nadeem secured Pakistan's first Olympic medal in 32 years and its first Olympic gold in 40 years.
On Thursday, Neeraj Chopra's mother Saroj Devi touched many hearts with her words about Arshad Nadeem, who beat her son to win the Olympic gold medal in the men's javelin final.
Even though Neeraj won silver, his mother was very proud and warm towards Arshad Nadeem.
“We are happy with the silver. The one who got the gold is also my child,” said Saroj Devi. Nadeem made history with his impressive throw of 92.97 meters on his second attempt and set a new Olympic record.
Neeraj delivered a throw of 89.45m, earning him the silver medal. His Olympic gold medal-winning throw Tokyo 2020 was 87.58m.
When Neeraj Chopra urged Pakistan government to help Arshad
In March, just five months before the Paris Olympics, Neeraj Chopra urged the Pakistani government to support Arshad Nadeem. He was surprised that Nadeem was having trouble getting a new javelin and believed that equipment makers would be happy to help him.
Nadeem had shared that he had been using the same javelin for nearly seven to eight years and the equipment had become so worn out that it was no longer fit for high-level competition.
