Prime Minister Youth Programme Chairman Rana Mashood on Friday issued a clarification over a statement where he credited PM Shehbaz Sharif for javelin ace Arshad Nadeem’s triumph in the Paris Olympics 2024.
Speaking on the ARY News programme “Sports Room”, the PML-N leader said that the javelin ace was discovered in the Punjab Youth Festival, introduced by Shahbaz Sharif in 2012 when he was the chief minister of the province.
“We began providing a platform to those talented girls and boys who wanted to pursue sports. Arshad Nadeem is also a find of the Punjab Youth Festival 2012,” Mashood said.
His clarification came after a video went viral showing Mashood congratulating PM Shehbaz while telling him, “This is your vision, sir. You gave him [Arshad Nadeem] a chance.”
Arshad Nadeem 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.
Read more: Arshad Nadeem: From Humble Beginnings to Olympic Gold
Rana Mashood claimed that the PML-N government helped the star athlete financially while PM Shehbaz met the javelin ace on a regular basis.
“A few months earlier, he [Arshad Nadeem] contacted us and informed us about his visa issues along with the lack of a proper javelin. The prime minister then met him and resolved all the issues,” the PML-N leader stated.
According to Rana Mashood, PM Shehbaz broke down in tears when the javelin ace triumphed in the final of the Paris Olympics 2024.
It is pertinent to mention that 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.
Following his triumph at the Paris Olympics 2024, Punjab government announced Rs100 million for Arshad.
Sindh government had also announced a Rs50 million reward for Pakistan’s star athlete Arshad Nadeem.
