ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s leading athlete, Arshad Nadeem, set a new record in Commonwealth Games in the early hours of Monday and won a gold medal for his country in Men’s Javelin Final by throwing 90.18 meters in his fifth attempt.
Nadeem’s exceptional performance brought Pakistan’s medals tally in the ongoing games to eight.
Prior to that, Pakistani wrestlers Mohammad Tahir Shareef and Ali Asad bagged silver and bronze medals, respectively, for their country on Saturday.
“Arshad Nadeem, IOC [International Olympic Committee] Scholarship holder, made a history by throwing Javelin beyond 90 m,” Pakistan Olympic Association confirmed in a Twitter post. “Breaking records he has won 2nd Gold Medal for Pakistan! Congratulations Champion!”
Pakistani athletes have complained of not receiving enough support from sports authorities in the form of training and infrastructure, yet have continued to perform impressively in global tournaments.
After last year’s Olympics, Nadeem also mentioned how Pakistani athletes found it difficult to compete with international rivals due to a lack of facilities. He maintained the national sports authorities were putting in quite a lot of effort, though more needed to be done.
Despite limited resources, several other Pakistani athletes performed quite well in the Commonwealth Games. These included Pakistani wrestlers Muhammad Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar who won two silver medals on Friday after being overpowered by rival athletes in +86- and +125-kilogram categories.
Prior to that, another wrestler, Inayatullah, secured a bronze medal in the +65-kilogram competition.
Pakistan’s weightlifter Nooh Dastagir Butt was the only one who bagged a gold for his country before Nadeem’s performance on Monday.
Butt made a new record by lifting 173 kilograms.
