Well done Arshad Nadeem!

Dr Lubna Zaheer

Javelin superstar Arshad Nadeem has made Pakistan and Pakistanis proud by bagging a gold medal in the Paris Olympics 2024. After a long wait of almost 40 years, Pakistan won the gold medal in the Olympics. Ever since this news came out, the name of Arshad Nadeem has been buzzing all over the country. Arshad is covered on the screens of television channels, pages of newspapers and social media platforms. He is also well-received at the federal and provincial government levels. Awards and honours are raining on him.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced the heaviest prize of Rs100 million for Arshad and also announced building a sports city in the name of Arshad Nadeem in Mian Chanu. The Sindh government also announced Rs50m for Arshad. Similarly, Sindh Governor Kamran Tesori and Punjab Governor Sardar Salim Haider Khan also announced a reward of Rs2m each. The International Association of Athletics Federations has awarded a prize money of $50,000 to each athlete who won a gold medal. Arshad Nadeem will also get this amount. He is getting great encouragement at the private level as well. Announcements of prize money for Arshad Nadeem are coming from various business personalities including famous singer Ali Zafar and cricketer Ahmed Shahzad.

It has been suggested that the Government of Pakistan should give the Presidential Award for good performance to Arshad Nadeem. President Asif Ali Zardari has taken several steps ahead of this proposal and announced to giving the highest civil award of Pakistan, Hilal Imtiaz, to Arshad Nadeem.

Arshad Nadeem received a grand welcome on his return home. Senior government officials including federal ministers welcomed Arshad at Lahore Airport. Hundreds, thousands of fans were also present to welcome the national hero. Arshad reached his native village in the form of a large convoy. Bhangras were thrown to the beat of drums in the village. Arshad was garlanded. The flower petals were showered. Sweets were distributed. Arshad's parents and relatives are very happy about this success. Arshad Nadeem is also grateful to the government and the people. He is determined to make full preparations for the 2028 Olympics and make the country's name brighter.

This was Arshad Nadeem's post-success story. The real story precedes this success. This story is about hard work, determination, courage and continuous struggle. There are many lessons hidden in this story for young people. Arshad began his journey with very limited resources and facilities. He continued to work hard and finally, he achieved the position that today his name is ringing all over Pakistan. See the power of Allah Almighty that an ordinary player rose to the heights of fame in a few hours. In Arshad's success story, there is also a lesson for the youth that instead of crying about deprivations and limited resources, if one works hard and strives, extraordinary success can be achieved even in ordinary circumstances.

We often see that our young generation looks to the facilities available in western countries, instead of looking to the facilities and resources available. It’s sad to see that our youth think that they have no future in this country. They feel that they cannot fulfil their dreams by living in these conditions and can't get high positions. Most young people believe that a heavy recommendation or high pedigree is required to get ahead. Arshad Nadeem of Mian Chanu has proved the thinking of all these youths wrong. Arshad has proved that without degrees from international institutions, strong references and even a family background, any place in the world can be achieved by the grace of Allah, the prayers of parents, and constant striving.

Look at the misfortune of Pakistan for some years that there is a group that is willing to put dust on their heads for every success of Pakistan. Only in political antagonism, instead of rejoicing over Arshad's success, a group is criticizing the government. Saying that all the credit of Arshad's success goes to himself alone and was never patronized by the government. He won the gold medal at the Olympics without any patronage or encouragement. While the reality is the opposite. Although we do not have any sport, including the national sport hockey, as much patronage as cricket. However, it is not correct to say that Arshad Nadeem did not have government patronage. Arshad has been receiving government support for the past several years. Arshad has done many foreign tours. He has represented Pakistan in many countries including Japan, Indonesia, India, Azerbaijan, and Australia. He has trained abroad.

Even a common sense person can understand that all this is not possible without government patronage and financial support. Even before going to Paris, Arshad had contacts and meetings with Prime Minister Youth Program Chairman Rana Mashhood Ahmed and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Arshad himself has credited his coaches and trainers for his success. Arshad has admitted that he took part in the sports festival when Shahbaz Sharif was the Punjab chief minister. He says he is a planted sapling of the sports festival.

However, who can deny the fact that in Pakistan, no sport other than cricket enjoys full government patronage and public encouragement. Apart from cricket, no other sport spends millions of rupees. For years, there has been a demand for the government to sponsor cricket as well as other sports. Other sports aside, here the national sport of hockey has been neglected by the government for decades. Instead of focusing on cricket and cricketers, the government should encourage other sports and players as well. If federal and provincial governments patronize sports and athletes in different cities and towns of the country, diamonds [like Arshad Sharif] can be found in Pakistan.

It's great to see that Javelin superhero Arshad has united all of Pakistan. The Parliament, a place of political fights usually, got united as each lawmaker celebrated the joy and paid tribute to Arshad. We often hear that a piece of good news is rare in Pakistan. If the latest good news involves Arshad Nadeem, May Allah grant us more good and positive news related to sports as well as other fields. Ameen

-- The writer is a professor and analyst specializing in media and communication studies. She can be reached at lubna.zaheer91@gmail.com

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