Track and field athlete Arshad Nadeem was being mobbed by fans and paparazzi as he arrived at the Pakistani embassy in Paris after winning gold in the Men's javelin throw final in the Olympics. In a video surfaced on social media, fans were desperately trying to take pictures with the 27-year-old as he tried to enter the embassy.
Nadeem ended Pakistan's long-standing Olympic medal drought with a record-breaking throw of 92.97 meters, thereby clinching gold. While defending champion and his Indian counterpart Neeraj Chopra was the firm favourite, Nadeem proved to be head and shoulders above him. Wishes poured from all walks of the country as Nadeem clinched the first gold for Pakistan in Athletics.
The Times of Karachi uploaded the below video of the same:
"I was even confident of throwing beyond 92.97m" - Arshad Nadeem
Following his performance, Nadeem thanked everyone who kept him in their prayers and credited his fitness for the performance he gave. He also vowed to work harder moving forward and target throwing breaking his own record. As quoted by NDTV, he stated:
"I am thankful to the nation. Everyone prayed for me, and I was hopeful of doing well. Over the years, I got a knee injury and recovered, and worked hard on my fitness. I was even confident of throwing beyond 92.97m, but that throw was enough for me to get the gold. I will continue to work hard and give my best in the days and months to come. I am planning to throw beyond this mark as well."