27-year-old Arshad Nadeem puts Pakistan’s name on the 2024 Olympic medal list, winning the gold medal in javelin throwPrime Minister Shahbaz Sharif left no stone unturned in congratulating the ex-athlete for his historic performance. However, along with the tweet, Sharif also posted an old photo of himself handing over a cheque of Rs1 million to Nadeem, which drew sharp criticism and led to a flood of memes on social media.
Adding fuel to the fire was a video of Pakistani politician Rana Masood, in which he credited Shahbaz Sharif for giving Nadeem the opportunity to participate in the Paris Olympics. Masood and Sharif are seen celebrating in the video. Nadeem won his first Olympic gold medal He broke the record of 92.97 metres on Thursday night.
With this achievement, Nadeem also became the first Pakistani to win an individual Olympic gold medal, while India’s “golden boy” Neeraj Chopra had to settle for a silver medal. Chopra, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, finished second with a season’s best effort of 89.45m.
Even though his trip to Paris was sponsored by the government, his appeal for a new javelin just months before the Olympics attracted widespread attention on social media and was even endorsed by Neeraj Chopra.
In March, Nadeem while speaking to the media urged Pakistani authorities to replace his old javelin as it is no longer suitable for high-level competition. Nadeem said that he has been using the same javelin for 7-8 years.
Nadeem did not receive any financial assistance from the government to travel for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. For other international tournaments, his friends and neighbours reportedly contributed to his expenses.
Shehbaz Sharif faced severe criticism from X for posting for Nadeem. A user tweeted, “Look at his mentality! Why would you upload a picture of him giving a cheque of Rs 10 lakh? Stupid and mindless.”
Another user called it an insult to Arshad and the country. He said, “You should be ashamed that you are showing the world that you once gave him Rs 10 lakh for his great achievement in which the government had no contribution.”
A third commented, “What a shame. Everyone knows Arshad’s struggle and even his house reveals it.”
Another user requested the Prime Minister to remove the photo. He tweeted, “Prime Minister ji, at least congratulate him politely… What this boy has done is priceless. Recommend him for Nishan-e-Imtiaz.”