Arshad Nadeem to get 10 crore prize money from Pakistan government

Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan created history by securing his country's first Olympic medal in 32 years.

He won the gold medal in men's javelin throw, breaking the Olympic record with a 92.97m throw in his second attempt. 

His throw broke a long-standing Olympic record of 90.57m held by Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen, who achieved it in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

Nadeem's journey to the pinnacle of Olympic glory has not been easy. To get a new javelin for the Paris Olympics, he had to resort to crowd-funding to be able to afford a new javelin, despite winning gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and silver in the 2023 World Championships. 

Thanks to his Olympic triumph, the Chief Minister of the Punjab province, Maryam Nawaz has announced a 10 crore PKR cash prize for Nadeem.

On top of it, a sports city will be constructed in his hometown of Khanewal, named after him, in a bid to recognize his achievements despite facing a lot of hardships. 

Nadeem and Neeraj have long been friends, although they share a fierce competition on the field. "The rivalry was there, no doubt about that. People in each country were eager to see us both throw the javelin and beat each other. I am very happy to see Neeraj win the silver medal," Nadeem said.