Arshad Nadeem to be conferred Pakistan’s second-highest civilian award after winning gold in Paris Olympics 2024

Pakistani athlete Arshad Nadeem will be conferred his country’s second-highest civilian award, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, for his historic achievement of winning Pakistan’s first individual Olympic gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event at the Paris Olympics 2024.

The news was announced by the Pakistan President Secretariat’s press wing in a statement on Saturday, according to Aaj News.

“The president will confer the civil award upon Arshad Nadeem during a special ceremony to be held in recognition of his prominent performance in sports,” the statement said.

The Hilal-i-Imtiaz is awarded to civilians or military officers – both Pakistani citizens and foreigners – who have made an ‘especially meritorious contribution’ to the cultural and national interests of Pakistan.

“Nadeem, with his brilliant performance, has made the nation proud in the field of sports,” Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said (as per Aaj News).

“Nadeem’s achievement at the international level brought laurels to the nation and raised the name of the country in athletics,” he added.

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Arshad Nadeem breaks Pakistan’s 36-year Olympic medal drought with Paris 2024 gold

Arshad Nadeem made history on Thursday with a new Olympic record throw of 92.97m in the final of the men’s javelin throw event in the Stade de France.

His throw, which broke the previous Olympic record of 90.57m held by Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen since Beijing 2008, secured him the gold medal, ahead of his cross-border rival Neeraj Chopra.

Additionally, the 27-year-old from Pakistan’s Punjab province achieved another historic milestone by winning his country’s first Olympic gold medal at an individual level, as well as the first medal of any kind since 1988.

Pakistan had previously won only two individual Olympic medals, both bronze, one in wrestling (Rome 1960) and one in boxing (Seoul 1988). The country had also won three gold medals in field hockey in 1960, 1968 and 1984.

With Arshad’s heroics in the javelin throw final, Pakistan leapfrogged to the top 60 in the medal tally despite only securing one gold medal.