A great deal of hard work is all that is required for every sportsman once they get to the highest competition level. He is an idol for the youth of the sub-continent. Winning his competition at the Paris Olympics, where nadim brought back the Belief to Pakistan, after agonizing 40-year wait for the sports gold medal, nadim also seen the first South Asian to win gold medal in an individual event in the Olympic quadrennial history.
At the same time, a teenage girl who holds the Olympic record of 92.97 meters in javelin throw made the statement that “I want to be like Nadeem and make my nation proud”. This is not an exaggeration. One of the promising javelin throwers is Bilal Muhammad who will represent his country in the Junior South Asian Athletics Championships (SAAC) in Chennai from coming Thursday.
“Ever since Nadim got the gold medal, all I could see was javelin dust and nothing else until recently. I admire him a great deal and wish to be able to get to his current standing some day. I have seen him on two occasions, the last one being just before he left that I was told. He said, when we return, there is a team (of young ones) who will all train together.” Bilal told TOI how much he is looking forward to being one of the new great Javelin throwers of India.
“For him (Nadeem) that’s the disadvantage. Winning does not bring false sense of superiority. If he fails, he reviews the error he has made, accepts it, and tries to step up his game the next time. That I can also do. I will put in a similar effort and will then let the performances do the talking.
Bilal is one of the many athletes who felt inspired after Nadeem’s unforgettable win – and it’s not only because of javelin throwers. Aisha Ahmed, a high jumper quotes how after Nadeem’s performance, the scope of sports in Pakistan has changed.
“People have taken to the javelin sport in large numbers. There are some who had never heard before the word or the action of the javelin ‘J’ But now they go to javelin training. A lot of young athletes have approached me asking which coach can teach them high athletics and sprinting.” Said the only female athlete representing Pakistan in the SAAC.
“In relation to women and men, the growth rate is that women have started making similar participation in track and field athletic events as men. I am not low, she mentioned,” Aiza responded.
Saif al-Islam Afridi,Vice President pakistan athletics federation (AFP) highlighted that progression in this sport owes a lot to Nadeem’s input.”
“An added good thing after Nadeem won the gold medal is a lot of people began participating in the javelin throw. And the effect was tremendous, so many people started showing interest in track and field as well. I have seen many people making scrolls and stories (social media) of them throwing sticks,” said SAAC Pakistan manager Afridi.
