Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem accorded warm welcome on his arrival at his hometown Mian Channu


MIAN CHANNU/LAHORE, August 11 (SABAH): Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem, who made history by setting a world record in Javelin throw at the Paris Olympics 2024, has been accorded warm welcome on his  arrival at his hometown Mian Channu on Sunday.

Thousands of people were gathered to celebrate his achievement. Upon his arrival, people showered him with flower petals and celebrated his return with drum beats and chants of “Long Live Arshad Nadeem, Long Live Pakistan”.

Arshad Nadeem was also given warm welcome by people at every town and city during his journey from Lahore to Mian Channu.

Earlier, on his arrival at Allama Iqbal Lahore airport he was received by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbalc Chaudhry, Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Punjab Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari, Punjab Sports Minister Faisal Ayub Khokhar, PML-N leader Khawaja Muhammad Saad Rafiq and Chairman of the PM Youth Program Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan and other leaders and officials.

Arshad Nadeem’s family, who had traveled from their village to Lahore with special protocol, joined the officials in welcoming him.

The gold medalist arrived in Lahore via Istanbul, landing at the airport at 1 am this morning.

Upon his arrival, fans of Arshad Nadeem showered him with flower petals and celebrated his return with drumming and chants of “Long Live Arshad Nadeem, Long Live Pakistan”.

After his return, Arshad Nadeem spoke to the media, expressing his heartfelt gratitude to the entire Pakistani nation and his parents, whose prayers he credited for his remarkable achievement.

He extended his thanks to the government and the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the support and facilities provided to him.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, speaking on the occasion, praised Arshad Nadeem’s accomplishment, stating that it was a matter of great pride for Pakistan.

He emphasized that passion could lead to success even when resources were limited and he expressed the government’s commitment to nurturing and developing more athletes like him.

Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima highlighted the Prime Minister’s unwavering support for Arshad Nadeem and reaffirmed government’s determination to extend similar support to every young athlete in Pakistan.

Arshad Nadeem also toured Lahore city on a double decker bus before leaving for his hometown in Mian Channu.