Arshad Nadeem

Arshad Nadeem Picture Credit: Twitter

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem recently caught everyone's attention at Tokyo 2020 with his impressive performances in men's javelin throw event. The athlete stunned everyone as he topped Group B in the qualifying round with an incredible 85.16m. However, the 24-year-old fell just a few inches short of winning an Olympic medal as he ended at 5th position in the finals with a throw of 84.62m.

Despite that, it was a performance to be proud of for Arshad and the whole of Pakistan. Notably, his camaraderie with India's gold medalist Neeraj Chopra was appreciated and loved by fans across the globe. Here is everything you need to know about the Pakistani star athlete.

Who is Arshad Nadeem?

Arshad Nadeem is one of Pakistan's top athletes who has won numerous medals at some of the biggest events across the globe.

Born: 2 January, 1997

Place: Khanewal, Punjab, Pakistan

Height: 1.87m (6 ft 2 in)

Weight: 95kgs

Event: Men's Javelin Throw

Having tried cricket, badminton, football, shot-put and discus throw in his early days, he finally decided to pursue javelin throw on advice of his father Muhammad Ashraf.

Arshad's Javelin Career

The 24-year-old began participating in competitive javelin throw events in year 2015. Arshad received scholarship from World Athletics a year later which opened the doors for him to train at IAAF High Performance Training Centre in Mauritius. This is when his career started as he won medals in the following events:

Asian Junior Athletics Championships (2016 Vietnam) - Bronze Medal

South Asian Games (2016 India) - Bronze Medal

Islamic Solidarity Games (2017 Baku) - Bronze Medal

Asian Games (2018 Jakarta) - Bronze Medal

South Asian Games (2019 Kathmandu) - Gold Medal

Arshad's Olympic Dream

Arshad Nadeem created history during 2019 South Asian Games where his gold-medal winning throw of 86.29m earned him an automatic spot at Tokyo Olympics 2020. He became only the first-ever Pakistani athlete to qualify directly for the Games. Later, he became nation's maiden representative in the finals of any track-and-field event.

Arshad's 5th place finish at Tokyo 2020 was nothing short of a landmark achievement. The following cash prizes have been announced to felicitate Pakistan's star athlete for his performances in the Summer Games:

Rs. 50 Lakh (Punjab Sports Board)

Rs. 10 Lakh (Government of Punjab Energy Department)

Rs. 10 Lakh (Lahore District Government)

Rs. 5 Lakh (Howdy Islamabad)

Rs. 3 Lakh (Cheezious Company Pakistan)