The Javelin Giant

Hurrah, Arshad Nadeem! Pakistan prides itself on the Olympic achievement of Mian Channu-born athlete who made history by individually winning a gold medal for Pakistan in 40 years. This laurel also brought to an end a drought prevalent for 32 years as Pakistan had been nowhere on the podium of celebrations since the 1992 Barcelona Games where they had won a hockey bronze. The 27-year javelin giant surprised the pundits of the game too as he finished with a mammoth 92.97m off his second throw in the final round, leaving behind his competitors in gaze. He also went on to erase the existing record of 90.57m set by Andreas Thorkildsen of the Netherlands at Beijing 2008. The gold for Pakistan is a spectacular déjà vu of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic hockey feast.

This moment of pride was all owing to the industrious struggle, and the resilience with which Arshad kept his head high and emotions under control. At Stade de France, the javelin thrower was seen composed, but determined to look beyond the horizon. And he did that in all humility. His benevolence to credit the success to his coach and associates made him a towering personality, as the nation rallied for him in the late hour of Thursday to augment the Paris Protocol. He also exhibited sportsmanship for the runner-up Neeraj Chopra from India, who won silver for a throw of 89.45m. Chopra, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist with millions of followers on social media, was down and out as Nadeem's spear landed way beyond his imagination.

Arshad waited and watched for this moment as he graduated himself from Punjab to Paris. It was a process of trusting his intuition and keeping himself sporty with muscles and mind. As he finished fifth on his maiden appearance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he kept on eyeing for the ultimate triumph. A month ago at Stade Sebastiaen Charlety, Paris, he climbed a step by posting himself as fourth in the Diamond League, as fate perhaps had the gold for him in store.

It is disappointing to note that only seven athletes were there at Paris Olympics from a nation of 240 million. This is simply because professional grooming of players and their encouragement lacks governmental patronage. Hockey is one such game that has gone down the drain and there is no mentionable field-fight all these years. So is football wherein Pakistan's youth can easily surpass many of their Arab and European compatriots, but it does not even have a roll-call to hunt talent.

While Arshad will have time to open up his heart, the message downstream is that dedication and par-excellence training can put Pakistan back on the map of triumphs. To do so, politics must take a backseat on the merit-board of sports. Then the accolades will start pouring in from the lost fiefdoms of hockey to boxing, wrestling, marathons and swimming. The javelin hero has rekindled hope, and it's time to follow up the path of victory.