Pakistan's Asian Games bronze medallist Arshad Nadeem became the first athlete from the country to book his place in the Olympics final as he topped Group B of the javelin throw event with a 85.16m throw. The 24-year-old is among the top 12 javelin throwers now who will compete for the medals on Saturday, August 7 in the final.
Arshad is the last athlete to be performing for Pakistan at the Olympics in Tokyo, hoping to get a medal and break the country’s 29-year-old medal-drought in the Olympics. Pakistan took their last medal in Olympics in the 1992 Barcelona Games. He is also the first Pakistani to directly qualify for the Olympics. He did so through the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal.
The olympian’s achievement was followed by an outpouring of love and encouragement from across the country, with people taking to social media to commend the athlete’s performance. Several prominent celebrities sent out tweets lauding Arshad as well. From Humayun Saeed to Asim Azhar, here’s a list of celebrity reactions to Arshad making history.
Humayun Saeed
The Bin Roye actor took to Twitter to express his pride over Arshad’s performance. Humayun wrote, “Proud moment for Pakistan. Well done Arshad Nadeem. Wish you all the very best for the final! Hope we are able to do more for our brilliant athletes like Arshad and Talha Talib #Tokyo2020.”
Proud moment for Pakistan. Well done Arshad Nadeem. Wish you all the very best for the final! Hope we are able to do more for our brilliant athletes like Arshad and Talha Talib #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/Pvho0SVnwh
— Humayun Saeed (@iamhumayunsaeed) August 4, 2021
Wasim Akram
Mian Chunnu and Gujranwala. That’s where Pakistan’s most successful Olympians of 2021 are from -Arshad Nadeem (Javelin) and Talha Talib (Weightlifting).This shows that despite the lack of resources, systems, governances, the sporting talent in Pakistan 🇵🇰 is just unbelievable.
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) August 4, 2021
The former ace cricketer tweeted out a message of support for his fellow sportsman. Writing about the origins of Arshad and his fellow olympian Talha Talib, Wasim shared, “Mian Chunnu and Gujranwala. That’s where Pakistan’s most successful Olympians of 2021 are from - Arshad Nadeem (Javelin) and Talha Talib (Weightlifting). This shows that despite the lack of resources, systems, governances, the sporting talent in Pakistan is just unbelievable.”
Asim Azhar
“Well done @ArshadJavelin! Reaching to the final of #Tokyo2020 is a great achievement and Insha'Allah you'll do wonders in the final too,” wrote the singer on Twitter.
Well done @ArshadJavelin ! Reaching to the final of #Tokyo2020 is a great achievement and insha'Allah you'll do wonders in the final too 💪🏽#ArshadNadeem 🇵🇰 #Olympics
— Asim Azhar (@AsimAzharr) August 4, 2021
Hassan Ali
The cricketer tweeted out a message of love and encouragement to the athlete, calling Arshad “our hero from Mian Chunnu”. Hassan further wrote, “Mubarak on reaching the final achievement, insha'Allah you'll make us proud!”
Our hero from Mian Channu @ArshadJavelin 💪🏽 Mubarak on reaching the final achievement, insha'Allah you'll make 🇵🇰 proud!
— Hassan Ali 🇵🇰 (@RealHa55an) August 4, 2021
Lots of Duas 🤲🏼 pic.twitter.com/4lEnuFUu1I
Ahmad Shahzad
In a similar vein, cricketer Ahmad Shahzad tweeted, “What a wonderful achievement! @ArshadJavelin topping the qualifying group and making it to the final of #Tokyo2020 may you make us proud in the final. All the best Champ!”
What a wonderful achievement! @ArshadJavelin topping the qualifying group and making it to the final of #Tokyo2020 may you make 🇵🇰 proud in the final. All the best Champ!#Olympics pic.twitter.com/FAmpTzfdJx
— Ahmad Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@iamAhmadshahzad) August 4, 2021
Yumna Zaidi
The actor conveyed a message of encouragement and prayers on Twitter, writing, “Brilliant performance champ so proud of you best of luck for the final. Allah Kareem bless you a lot.”
Brilliant performance champ so proud of you best of luck for final 💪
— Yumna Zaidi (@YumnaZaidi90) August 5, 2021
Allah Kareem bless you a lot ❤️#ArshadNadeem #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/VNh8DNje3p
Ali Zafar
Tweeting out a picture of the scoreboard, the singer wrote, “Rooting for #ArshadNadeem.” The scoreboard saw Arshad’s name at the very top, with the german athlete in a close second.
Rooting for #ArshadNadeem 👏 pic.twitter.com/O08QDUcbnc
— Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) August 4, 2021
Adnan Siddiqui
The Meray Paas Tum Ho actor retweeted a news article on Arshad, writing alongside it, “Wishing #ArshadNadeem best of luck. #TokyoOlympics2021”
Wishing #ArshadNadeem best of luck. #TokyoOlympics2021 https://t.co/bxSOCnvj8o
— Adnan Siddiqui (@adnanactor) August 4, 2021
Hania Aamir
The starlet also posted a news article on Arshad to Twitter, sending out prayers to the athlete and wishing for a win. She wrote, “Godspeed, #ArshadNadeem – countless prayers for your success!”
Godspeed, #ArshadNadeem – countless prayers for your success!https://t.co/RXjtn7roPM#Olympics2020#Tokyo2020#Pakistan
— Hania Aamir (@realhaniahehe) August 5, 2021
Sami Khan
The actor took to Instagram to share a picture of Arshad’s name on top of the Olympic scoreboard. Sami wrote in the caption, “Proud of Arshad Nadeem. Pakistan Zindabad!”
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