Arshad Nadeem waves to people who gathered to welcome him at his hometown in Mian Channu, in Pakistan.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Lahore: Olympic javelin throw champion Arshad Nadeem was on Tuesday rewarded with 10 million rupees and a brand new car by the Punjab government for his historic gold medal-winning feat in the just-concluded Paris Games.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz handed Nadeem the cash prize and the car keys when she visited Nadeem's village in Mian Chunnu to meet him and his family.
“Arshad deserves everything he gets because he has brought so much joy and pride to the nation,” she said.
Flanked by Nadeem's parents, the CM handed the keys of the new car to the athlete with a special number plate of 92.97 which is the distance he threw to set a new Olympic record while winning gold in Paris on August 8.
The deputy commissioner, who accompanied Maryam Nawaz, said that the cheque and car were all prepared in record time on the instructions of the CM who wanted to meet Nadeem.
“She gave orders for the special number plate as well,” he said.
The CM also gave away a cheque of 50 lakh rupees to Nadeem's coach Salman Iqbal Butt before flying back to Lahore.
Nadeem became the first track and field athlete from Pakistan to clinch an Olympic gold medal with his stunning 92.97m effort in the men's javelin throw final, while while India's Neeraj Chopra, who was defending his title, took the silver with a season's best 89.45m.
Nadeem's gold was Pakistan's first after 40 years since the men's team won it in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.