Arshad Nadeem ends Pakistan's 32-year drought with Olympic gold medal

Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s javelin thrower, ended the country’s 32-year medal drought in the Olympics after bagging a gold medal with the longest throw of 92.97 meters in the javelin final at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Arshad Nadeem became the first-ever individual gold medalist in the Olympics for Pakistan.

In the first stage, the star javelin player failed to make a mark in his first attempt, however, he made a remarkable recovery with 92.97m in his second attempt, a new Olympic record.

He surpassed Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen, who threw farthest at 90.57 during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Nadeem went on to deliver an 88.72-meter throw in his third attempt.

India’s Neeraj Chopra also failed to make a mark in his first attempt, however, he recovered with an 89.45m throw to bag a silver medal. His third attempt was also ruled out.

Arshad Nadeem qualified in the final round of the Javelin throw on Tuesday with an 86.59-meter throw in his first attempt during the qualification round.

The javelin ace became Pakistan’s only hope for a medal at the Paris Olympics following the disqualification of six out of the seven athletes from their respective events.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan last won a medal at Olympics in 1992, 32 years ago when the country’s national hockey team secured the bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics.