Nadeem: Hard Work Pays Off, Olympic champion
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan expressed that his dedication finally paid off as he clinched the Olympic men's javelin gold in Paris, marking his country's first-ever individual gold at a Summer Games.
Nadeem broke the Olympic record with a throw of 92.97 meters to win, while India's Neeraj Chopra, the defending champion, secured the silver medal with a distance of 89.45 meters. Anderson Peters from Grenada won the bronze medal with a throw of 88.54m.
Nadeem, who is 27 years old, stated that he felt the javelin leaving his hand and believed it could potentially set an Olympic record.
Nadeem, who won the 2022 Commonwealth title, finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, and earned a silver medal at the 2021 Budapest world championships, emphasized the significance of the outcome for Pakistan, noting his years of hard work.
The effort I put into training has finally shown results.
He emphasized that the rivalry with Chopra undoubtedly exists.
Similar to cricket, there was a competitive rivalry in javelin throwing. Individuals in our home countries of Pakistan and India were excited to witness our joint competition.
Nadeem mentioned that he had grand aspirations of throwing an even greater distance.
"After surpassing my previous best by over two meters with a new Olympic record, I had anticipated going even greater distances and am looking forward to pushing myself even more," he stated.
I will put in more effort to surpass my personal record by reaching over 95 meters.
Pakistan had never secured an individual gold medal at the Olympics until Arshad's impressive win.
Pakistan has secured gold medals in field hockey on three occasions before, winning in 1960, 1968 and 1984.
Before Thursday, only two Pakistani athletes had earned individual medals of any color - a wrestling bronze in 1960 and a boxing bronze in 1988.
Pakistan has not won any kind of medal since the 1992 Barcelona Games. Chopra was happy with his top throw, but little else pleased him.
He expressed dissatisfaction with his performance today, as well as with his technique and runway.
I fouled all throws except for one. On the second attempt, I had confidence in my ability to throw just as far. However, if your approach in javelin is subpar, you won't be able to achieve a great distance.
Chopra confessed to limiting his throwing practice in training due to a groin injury.
"The past two to three years have been rather challenging." I'm constantly getting hurt. I put in a lot of effort, but I need to focus on improving my injury and technique.
I will strive diligently in the upcoming days. The competition that took place today was fantastic. Arshad did a great job throwing. Congratulations are in order for him and his nation.
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