How a Village in Pakistan Helped Him Get to the Olympics
Arshad Nadeem was born on January 2, 1997, in a small village near the city of Mian Channu in southern Punjab state, about 300km (186 miles) southwest of the megacity of Lahore.
The third of seven siblings, Nadeem grew up in a household that struggled to make ends meet. His father, Muhammad Ashraf, a retired construction worker, was the sole breadwinner.
Nadeem’s older brother, Shahid Azeem, 32, said their family would get to eat meat only once a year, during Eid al-Adha.
“It would be a lucky day for the family if we ate anything more than lentils or vegetables,” Shahid told.
As a child, Nadeem towered over his classmates. By the time he was 14, he was almost six feet (183cm) tall. It was a “gift”, Shahid said, from their father, who is also more than six feet tall.
Arshad Nadeem Olympics journey is really cool, just like his 92.7-meter javelin throw in the Olympics that won Pakistan its first medal in 32 years (Gold after 40 years).
What makes his journey special is that he didn’t get much help from big sports groups. When he started javelin, he didn’t have much money. His dad, Muhammad Ashraf, said that people in their village pooled money so Arshad could train.
“People don’t know how Arshad got here today,” his dad said. “His fellow villagers and family used to give money so he could travel to other cities for training and events when he was starting out.”
At 27 years old, Nadeem won Pakistan’s first gold medal. It’s only the country’s third medal ever, after wrestling in 1960 and boxing in 1988.
Earlier this year, when Nadeem needed a new javelin for training, another athlete, Neeraj Chopra, helped him on social media. Nadeem has come far, even though he’s had to deal with problems like elbow, knee, and back injuries, which led to knee surgery last year.
Even though he doesn’t have the fancy facilities and gear that athletes in other countries have, Nadeem has gotten people in Pakistan to pay attention to athletics, not just cricket.
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