Pakistani Arshad Nadeem won a historic gold medal in the javelin throw competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics after beating Indian Neeraj Chopra, the gold medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The news of Nadeem's victory, who arrived in Pakistan late Friday night, sparked joy among his countrymen, with congratulatory messages pouring in from the country's leaders and huge celebrations in his usually quiet village of Mian Chanu.
"At first, he made homemade spears using tree branches and fitted them with iron tips. The fields in our village served as training grounds," his elder brother told media.
Things improved when Nadim joined the local electricity company, which had its own sports facilities.
According to his mother, the Pakistani government agreed to his request and intervened to improve the situation, giving him 3 spears of international standards from South Africa.
"This medal is a gift from me to the entire country on the occasion of Independence Day (August 14)," Nadeem wrote on the X platform.
The chief minister of Nadeem's home province of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, had announced a cash reward of Rs 100 million ($359,195) for what she described as "hard work."