Arshad Nadeem put Pakistan back on the Olympic map by winning an unprecedented gold in men's javelin throw. It marked the first time that an athlete from the country won an individual gold at the Olympics the first Games medal in an athletics event and the country's first gold since the men's hockey team won their last at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Nadeem is being showered with gifts and rewards in Pakistan since his return from Paris Olympics and among them all will be a buffalo from his father-in-law. Muhammad Nawaz told the local media in Nadeem's village on Sunday that gifting a buffalo is considered "very valuable" and "honourable" in their village.
"Nadeem also takes great pride in his roots and despite the success, his home still remains his village and he still lives with his parents and brothers," said Nawaz.
Nawaz said that his youngest daughter Ayesha was married to Nadeem six years ago and the couple has two sons and a daughter. He said that when he decided to marry his daughter to Nadeem, he was a man of limited means but had the hunger to do well in sports for which he used to train in village fields.
"When we decided to marry our daughter to Nadeem six years back, at that time he used to do small jobs and run errands but was extremely passionate about his sport and constantly practised throwing the javelin at home and in the fields," said Nawaz.
{{/usCountry}}"When we decided to marry our daughter to Nadeem six years back, at that time he used to do small jobs and run errands but was extremely passionate about his sport and constantly practised throwing the javelin at home and in the fields," said Nawaz.
{{/usCountry}}Nadeem's village has a huge role to play in his success. Hailing from the rural area of Khanewal in Punjab, Nadeem had very limited means to train and travel abroad for competitions, with fellow villagers and relatives donating money so that he could compete abroad in his early days.
In Paris, Nadeem shattered the men's javelin Olympic record by throwing 92.97m in his second attempt. He thus managed to keep Indian defending champion and his great rival and friend Neeraj Chopra at bay. Neeraj, who was managing a groin injury, won silver with a best throw of 89.45m.