Pakistan athletics sensation Arshad Nadeem keeps watching Neeraj Chopra videos on his mobile phone. This was revealed by Arshads’s father Muhammad Ashraf.
Muhammad Ashraf was getting ready to start his day as a mason in the town of Mian Channu in the nation’s Khanewal district on Monday when the news broke that Pakistan’s javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem had won a historic silver in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
The family of seven, who resides in a three-room house in the town, sat up late to watch Arshad Nadeem perform in the Worlds final.
“Arshad’s competition last night was watched by the entire community. Nearly everyone, including myself, was aware that they had to leave for work in the morning, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to watch my kid win a medal at the international level,” Ashraf told The Indian Express on phone.
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Over 500 people watched the action on Sunday night at a roundabout in the town where the neighborhood had rented an LCD and installed it. When Arshad Nadeem received the medal following the competition, Ashraf remarked, “I knew that he had done something big at the world level, even though I did not understand the throws and all.”
“He has made the village, Pakistan, and the continent of Asia proud. When he earned the medal, all of his siblings cheered for him. Arshad’s statement. A young Indian boy took home the gold. When Arshad is at home, he frequently talks about him,” he added.
When Arshad was younger, he frequently observed villagers competing in nejabazi (tent pegging) in and near his village. Before switching to the javelin, he played some tape-ball cricket as well. With a throw of 90.18 meters, he captured the gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games the previous year. He participated in two tournaments after that before getting elbow and shoulder problems.
“During his recovery at home, he would discuss the javelin and how tent pegging was similar to the javelin. He would explain to us that javelin throwing requires the same level of accuracy as tent pegging, as well as the correct angle and velocity. We would frequently observe the Indian boy on his phone while he watched YouTube videos, according to Ashraf.
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