When Nadeem Arshad begged Pakistan govt to fund him for new javelin as old one had worn out, it was…

Chandigarh, August 9

Pakistan is celebrating javelin thrower Nadeem Arshad 's monster throw of 92.97m -- which is an Olympic record.

The 27-year-old Nadeem’s story is not just remarkable, but also inspirational.

Born on January 2, 1997 in Mian Channu, a town in Pakistan’s Punjab, which is 250 km from Lahore, Arshad has seven siblings and is the third-oldest. His family was not financially strong and father is a construction worker.

Nadeem went to Paris after fighting elbow and knee injuries and with limited training facilities available to him.

At one stage, he even had to appeal to the government to provide him a new javelin as his old one had worn out, reports PTI.

Then people from his village collected money and helped fund his training and travel to international competitions.

Arshad's father Muhammad Ashraf said: "His fellow villagers and relatives used to donate money so that he could travel to other cities for his training and events in his early days."

Also, there are reports that when Arshad did not have money to buy a new javelin and was running from pillar to post to ask for sponsorship, the Pakistan Cricket Board sponsored him.

Nadeem has added an Olympic gold to his tally of gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and silver medal in last year's World Championships.

Pakistan's last Olympic gold was in hockey in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.