Pakistan government backs javelin star Arshad Nadeem with funds for HPD Centre
Mumbai, June 11
Pakistan's Olympic champion in javelin throw, Arshad Nadeem, will get a financial boost for his sports complex to produce more champions as the country's government has allocated 50 million PKR, a news report said on Thursday.
Nadeem stunned the world by winning the gold medal in the Javelin event of the Paris Olympics two years ago, throwing the spear to a new Olympic record distance of 92.97 meters.
Nadeem showed pleasure at the allocation of the budget, a source told www.telecomasia.net. "Let it come to an official announcement, but I have been told about this, and this will be a great boost for the sports complex, which will be aimed at producing future champions," Nadeem told Telecom Asia Sport.
Nadeem stressed the need for uplifting facilities. "Who can know better than me what facilities mean," he said. "I have been witnessing how Neeraj and other athletes train and have physically seen their facilities. So, this facility will go a long way in helping us progress and produce more champions."
The academy will be named Arshad Nadeem-Shahbaz Sharif High Performance Sports Academy and will be developed at the Pakistan Sports Complex. The estimated cost of the project is around 2.85 billion PKR, a figure Nadeem hoped would be raised in a year.
As per details, a state-of-the-art academy to train elite athletes across 10 disciplines, which includes Javelin, Squash, Swimming, Shooting, and Wrestling. The Punjab government is constructing a Rs. 53 million sports stadium in Nadeem's hometown of Mian Channu, which will also help groom Javelin players.
"We need to give international-level facilities to our athletes if we want to produce champions like India, China, Japan, and other Asian countries have done," Nadeem was quoted as saying in the report.
After performing Hajj, Nadeem is back to training with the aim to win at the Commonwealth Games (July 23 to August 2, Glasgow) and Asian Games (September 19 - October 4). Arshad Nadeem was forced to withdraw from the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou due to a chronic right knee injury, with Chopra defending his title. Nadeem, though, will defend his title.
He won the men's javelin gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, setting a new Games record with a mammoth throw of 90.18 meters, famously securing the top spot and becoming the first South Asian to cross the 90-metre barrier.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Arshad Nadeem is a class act. Remember that 90.18m throw at Commonwealth Games? That was insane. And he talks about Neeraj Chopra's facilities with such respect. Real sportsman spirit. 🏆
Finally some good news from across the border! Nadeem is a beacon of hope for Pakistani sports. But I'm skeptical - will this 2.85 billion PKR actually materialize? Our track record with such promises isn't great. Remember the Sagarmala project? Even then, if even a fraction comes through, it's a win for South Asian athletics. Neeraj vs Nadeem in every major event would be epic!
Nice gesture but naming it after Shahbaz Sharif? Politics and sports should be separate. Nadeem deserves recognition without political baggage. Otherwise, good initiative to develop athletes. Hope they focus on grassroots too, not just elite facilities.
As an Indian, I'm genuinely happy for Nadeem. At Paris Olympics, when he won gold, my father actually said "at least a South Asian won it" - that's how we feel! Healthy rivalry between Neeraj and Arshad pushes both to greater heights. Let's hope more sports get this kind of funding in Pakistan. Maybe one day we'll see both countries competing in hockey like old times! 🏑🇮🇳🇵🇰
Wait, he's defending his CWG title this year
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