Since winning Pakistan’s first Olympic gold since 1984, Nadeem has received substantial rewards, including cash prizes of around 280 million PKR, cars, and other gifts.
Governor Punjab awarded him two million rupees and a car on Saturday. However, Nadeem emphasized the need for a modern track and field stadium and a women’s university in his hometown, Mian Channu.
“We badly need facilities for our women and even men to acquire higher education in our area and nowadays young athletes need to be given the best facilities,” Nadeem said on the ARY news channel.
Nadeem, appearing on the show with his wife Rashida, also discussed the unique gift from his father-in-law—a buffalo.
“I was a bit surprised with the announcement and I wondered since my father-in-law is a very rich person and has a lot of land…if only he had given me 4-5 acres of farm land instead of the buffalo,” he said with a smile.
Rashida opened up about her worries during the Olympics, revealing she was aware of Nadeem’s injury issues but kept it from other family members.
“When he went for the Games, I couldn’t sleep for three days and I just kept on praying that he would remain fit and return with a gold medal,” she said.
Nadeem’s long-time coach Salman Butt said the ace javelin thrower will return to training in a month’s time as he faces the hard task of living up to people’s expectations.
“Arshad knows that he has to work harder to maintain his position as there is great competition in the javelin throw in the international field,” he said.
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