BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan’s ace athlete Arshad Nadeem revealed that he missed his Indian counterpart Neeraj Chopra’s presence in the Commonwealth Games after he bagged a historic gold medal in the men’s javelin throw final, here on Monday.
Speaking to ARY News following his astounding feat the other day, Arshad shared his inspirational journey from the Tokyo Olympics to creating history in the Commonwealth Games and stated that it was a matter of great pride for him to win a gold for Pakistan for the first time.
“I competed in international competitions for the first time since suffering an injury after the Tokyo Olympics. My targets were the Commonwealth Games, World Athletics Championships and Islamic Games,” he said.
“I’ve been working on my injury. Hopefully, I will earn more medals for Pakistan in the future”, hoped Arshad who defied an elbow and knee injury the other day to set the Commonwealth Games record with his magnificent throw of 90.18 metres.
“When I made an 88 metres throw and after (Anderson) Peters threw as well, I feel more motivated that there is still throw left in me and I can do that,” said Arshad as he beat World Atheltic Champion, Grenada’s Anderson Peter who threw a distance of 88.64m to finish second in the CWG final.
While he also surpassed Neeraj Chopra’s Tokyo Olympics throw of 87.58m, the 25-year-old Arshad revealed that he has been friends with the Indian javelin star and claimed that he felt his absence during the Games.
“Injuries are part and parcel of the game. If Neeraj was here, it would’ve been more exciting. I pray for his recovery and wish him luck for his next competition” he added.
Moreover, the star athlete expressed the joy that he won the medal at a time when the country’s independence was just around the corner and stated that the whole nation would celebrate the 14th August with the medals this time.
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