PAKISTAN’S hopes of returning with anything from Paris — most importantly, a first Olympic medal in 32 years — had rested squarely on the broad shoulders of javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem. And how he delivered.

With an Olympic record throw of 92.97m, the 27-year-old from a village near Mian Chunnu became Pakistan’s first-ever individual gold medallist at the Games. He made history in the French capital by winning Pakistan’s first Olympic gold since 1984, when the country’s hockey team triumphed in Los Angeles. It was the first medal of any colour since Barcelona 1992, when the hockey team bagged the bronze. Arshad’s feat, therefore, makes him arguably Pakistan’s greatest-ever Olympian.

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Arshad had to take the hard route; he had to make do with substandard facilities and few funds, at one time even struggling to get a javelin. But at the Stade de France on Thursday, with the eyes of the world on him, he put behind the hardships and physical toll, having undergone surgeries on his elbow and leg in the last few years, to shine through and put Pakistan on top of the javelin podium. It was remarkable.

For an athlete whose international participation has been few and far between, who has struggled to regularly compete during athletics’ marquee Diamond League season, unlike the rest of the field, Arshad ended the contest on the biggest stage of them all with just his second throw, beating the Olympic record by some distance and leaving his rivals trailing. The universe seemed to have aligned for Arshad’s moment of magic, Pakistan’s moment of glory, the relentless pursuit of gold by a single man from a country of over 235 million coming to fruition. So how will Pakistan now preserve and boost its national treasure?

Cash prizes have been announced left, right and centre, but the question is: why did Arshad not receive this support when he needed the funds most — prior to the Games? Why does the country and its government wait for something to be achieved before springing into action? Why does it not strive to create these moments of national glory?

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Arshad later pointed out the absence of world-class training facilities in Pakistan, and the fact that he had one camp in South Africa and only one Diamond League meet in the lead-up to the Games. This, despite the fact that Arshad had already proven his talent when he speared his way to the Commonwealth Games gold in 2022, before winning a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships last year.

Arshad’s gold should be a watershed moment for sports in Pakistan. It should force a rethink by the government and the sports authorities about how to better fund Pakistan’s athletes, because it is they who deliver the glory.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2024