Impressive feat: Arshad Nadeem in action during the men’s javelin event at the Paris Olympic Games last month. Nadeem bagged the gold medal. — AFP
PARIS: Witnessing para athletes fight for glory at the Paralympics is something truly motivational – even if you already have an Olympic gold medal around your neck.
Pakistan’s first-ever Olympic gold medallist in athletics, Arshad Nadeem, who was in the stands at the Paris La Defense Arena to catch the para swimming events on Friday, was left impressed by the efforts para athletes go through.
“I am very impressed and this is something that is a motivation for me to train even harder,” he said.
“These para athletes, even with the handicaps that they have, are still striving to achieve greatness.
“That motivates me more than anything else,” he said.
The 27-year-old Arshad won gold in the men’s javelin event at the Paris Olympics last month with his record-breaking 92.97m throw, earning Pakistan its first Olympic medal since the 1992 Barcelona Games and first gold medal since the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
It’s common for the Olympic athletes to be surrounded by sponsors wanting to ride the wave of glory after they return home with medals, but Arshad said it takes trust and belief to be with an athlete before they make headlines.
Arshad, who is a Toyota athlete, said the help of corporate sponsors before his gold medal victory was also a motivation for him.
“I’m very thankful for Toyota, especially the fact that they came to me and spotted me before the Olympics.
“At that time, preparation and funding was very important. Everybody comes to you after the Olympics, but Toyota came to me before that, and that was very helpful for me and kept me motivated to do well,” he said.
Arshad added that external help is even more crucial for para athletes, as the funding and support for them tend to be less than for Olympic athletes.
Arshad who comes from a poor family in the central Pakistani region of Khanewal, shot to sporting stardom after his win in Paris. His story was so inspiring as he shared how he had to improvise with homemade javelins by using eucalyptus branches with iron tips at the end when he started off.
Arshad hopes more attention is given to para athletes.
“The para athletes should be supported more than regular Olympic athletes because they deserve more in my opinion.
“They work just as hard, if not even harder with their disabilities, and they are able to produce fantastic results which are phenomenal and truly inspiring,” he said.
