Arshad Nadeem ends Pakistan’s 32-year wait with Paris Olympics Gold in Javelin

Pakistan’s star athlete Arshad Nadeem ended the country’s 32-year medal drought in the Olympics after bagging a gold medal with the longest throw of 92.97 meters in the javelin final of the Paris Olympics 2024.

Arshad set the Olympic record with a 92.97m throw, going past Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen, who threw farthest at 90.57 during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

His throw was enough for him to seal the Gold medal, the first-ever individual gold medal in the Olympics for Pakistan.

India’s Neeraj Chopra secured the silver medal with an 89.45m throw in his second attempt while all of his other attempts were deemed as “No Throw”.

Anderson Peters of Grenada clinched the bronze medal with his longest throw of 88.54 m.

Arshad failed to make a mark in his first attempt as it was deemed as “No Throw”.

Meanwhile, Indian rival also Neeraj Chopra failed to make a mark in his first attempt before he recovered with an 89.45m throw. His third attempt was also ruled out.

All 12 participants were to throw three times in the first stage, after which the top eight athletes had three more throws.

For the unversed, Arshad Nadeem qualified in the final round of the Javelin throw on Tuesday with an 86.59-meter throw in his first attempt during the qualification round.

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“I want to make Pakistan proud in the Olympic Games,” Nadeem told a local news channel.

“I am optimistic about delivering a good result in the final,” he maintained while thanking fans for their support.

The final of the Javelin Throw event was played on Thursday, dAugust 8, at 11:25 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and was telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports Channel A Sports and streamed live on ARY ZAP.

It is worth mentioning here that Arshad Nadeem was Pakistan’s last hope for a medal in the ongoing Paris Olympics as all of their remaining athletes had been knocked out of the medal race.

Pakistan last won a medal in the Olympics during the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, however, Arshad is hopeful that he will once again bring the glory to the country.

READ: Shan Masood backs Arshad Nadeem ahead of Javelin Throw final

Shan Masood backs Arshad Nadeem ahead of Javelin Throw final

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood extended his heartfelt congratulations and support to Arshad Nadeem as he prepares Paris Olympics Javelin Throw Final.

Arshad Nadeem, who secured his place in the final with a remarkable 86.59m throw in Tuesday’s qualifier round at Stade de France, has captured the hearts of millions, and his performance has ignited hope for an Olympic medal for Pakistan.

In a statement released by the former Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions Karachi Kings, their skipper Shan Masood praised Arshad Nadeem’s achievements and expressed his confidence in the javelin thrower’s ability to shine on the world stage.

“Congratulations on qualifying for the final, Arshad Nadeem. You are a role model for the entire country. All the best for the final round! Backing you to raise the Pakistan flag high on the podium on 8th August,” said Masood.

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Arshad’s season-best throw of 86.59m, achieved in his first and only attempt during the qualifier, has positioned him as a strong contender for the medal, ranking fourth heading into tonight’s finals.

His consistent performance throughout the season and his composure in high-pressure situations have made him a beacon of inspiration for aspiring athletes across the nation.

The final, scheduled to take place tonight at 11:25 PM Pakistan time, is set to be a thrilling event, with the hopes of the entire nation resting on Arshad’s shoulders. Fans from all over Pakistan and beyond are eagerly waiting to see him in action, hoping for a moment of glory that will be remembered for years to come.

As the anticipation builds, Karachi Kings, along with the rest of the country, stand united in support of Arshad Nadeem. We wish him the very best as he takes on this monumental challenge and strives to bring home an Olympic medal.

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Paris Olympics: India beat Spain to clinch Bronze in Hockey

COLOMBES: India men’s Hockey team came from behind to down Spain 2-1 and clinched the bronze medal in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.

Spain had a flying start to the third-place playoff as they secured an early lead through their captain Marc Miralles in the 18th minute.

The early deficit, however, did not haunt India much as they hit back in the 30th minute to draw level, courtesy of their skipper Harmanpreet Singh.

Singh struck again two minutes later to put India ahead in the 33rd minute.

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India’s defence then did well to refrain Spain from firing in an equalizer and clung on to their lead till the final whistle.

Notably, a bronze in the Paris Olympics 2024 took India’s tally of Olympic medals in Hockey to 13.

This was the nation’s second-consecutive bronze medal in field hockey, their first since Munich 1972.

India’s men’s hockey team entered the Paris Olympics 2024 as the most successful side in Olympic history with eight gold, one silver, and three bronze medals.

The nation that was going downhill in Hockey defied all the odds and ended a 41-year medal drought by claiming the bronze medal at Tokyo 2020.

READ: Indian wrestler, team deported amid Paris Olympics

Indian wrestler, team deported after disciplinary breach amid Paris Olympics

India’s woman wrestler Antim Panghal, alongside her support staff, has been deported back to India for a disciplinary breach during the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.

According to the details, Panghal went to a local hotel after featuring in her first bout in the Games and instead of heading back to the Village, she stayed there with her coach Bhagat Singh and sparring partner Vikas.

Furthermore, the wrestler then asked her sister to go to the Paris Olympics Village and bring back her belongings, who, however, got caught despite impersonating as Antim Panghal.

“The Indian Olympic Association [IOA] has decided to fly wrestler Antim and her support staff back after a disciplinary breach was brought to IOA’s notice by the French authorities,” Indian media quoted an official as saying.

“Antim [Panghal] asked her sister to go to the Games Village and come back with her belongings. Her sister was caught for impersonation and was taken to a police station to record her statement,” according to the IOA statement.

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Moreover, Panghal’s team including coach Bhagat Singh and Vikas were involved in an altercation with a taxi driver on their way back to the Olympic Village in an “inebriated state”. They also refused to pay for the journey.

“If that was not enough, Antim’s personal support staff — Vikas and Bhagat — travelled in an inebriated state in a taxi and refused to pay the driver, who then called police,” Indian media outlets reported, citing an unnamed IOA official.

“We have left to fight fire. When contacted, Vikas flatly refused their involvement in such an incident,” the official said.

Remember, Antim Panghal suffered defeat in her opening bout of the Paris Olympics to a Turkish wrestler.

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Serbia announces plans to build Novak Djokovic museum

Serbia is set to build a museum dedicated to Novak Djokovic after the tennis great clinched a gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024.

“We had the first discussions about the construction of the Novak Djokovic museum, which is expected to become another attraction for the city,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Tuesday.

Djokovic has long enjoyed the status of a living legend in Serbia, where the Belgrade native and winner of 24 Grand Slam titles ran a tennis academy for years and frequently attends sporting events and meets with officials.

“Palma de Mallorca has a museum dedicated to Rafael Nadal. We will strive to showcase what Djokovic has done for our country in accordance with his merits and at the same time attract tourists,” Vucic added.

Vucic said he hoped the museum would be finished before Belgrade hosts the World Expo in 2027.

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The announcement comes just days after Djokovic won a gold medal at the Paris Games on Sunday after defeating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2) in what was likely to be his final shot at Olympic glory.

The victory allowed him to join Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf and the watching Serena Williams as the only players to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic singles gold.

Djokovic also became the oldest singles champion since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988 and shattered Alcaraz’s bid to add gold to the French Open and Wimbledon titles he has already pocketed this summer.

Back in Serbia, people gathered in main squares across the country where they waved flags and sang patriotic songs to celebrate Djokovic’s victory.

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Arshad Nadeem’s javelin throw order for Paris Olympics final revealed

Pakistan’s star athlete Arshad Nadeem is scheduled to participate in the final round of the Javelin throw event of the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 later today.

The organisers have revealed the throw order for the participants, with Arshad Nadeem set to throw at number four.

Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch will be the first one to throw, followed by Anderson Peters from Grenada and Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad.

Meanwhile, Indian star and Tokyo Olympics’ gold medalist Neeraj Chopra is slated to throw at number eight.

All 12 participants will throw three times in the first stage, after which the top eight athletes will have three more throws.

For the unversed, Arshad Nadeem qualified in the final round of the Javelin throw on Tuesday with an 86.59-meter throw in his first attempt during the qualification round.

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“I want to make Pakistan proud in the Olympic Games,” Nadeem told a local news channel.

“I am optimistic about delivering a good result in the final,” he maintained while thanking fans for their support.

The final of the Javelin Throw event will be played on Thursday, August 8, at 11:25 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and will be telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports Channel A Sports and will also be streamed live on ARY ZAP.

It is worth mentioning here that Arshad Nadeem is Pakistan’s last hope for a medal in the ongoing Paris Olympics as all of their remaining athletes have been knocked out of the medal race.

Pakistan last won a medal in the Olympics during the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, however, Arshad is hopeful that he will once again bring the glory to the country.

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Babar Azam sends special message to Arshad Nadeem ahead of Olympics final

Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam extended his heartfelt best wishes to star Javelin Thrower Arshad Nadeem ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024 final, scheduled for Thursday.

Nadeem, who is the sole hope of Pakistan for a medal in the ongoing games, qualified in the final round of the Javelin throw earlier today with an 86.59-meter throw in his first attempt.

He eased past into the final round, finishing fourth, while India’s Neeraj Chopra topped the charts with a massive 89.34-meter throw.

“I want to make Pakistan proud in the Olympic Games,” Nadeem told a local news channel.

“I am optimistic about delivering a good result in the final,” he maintained while thanking fans for their support.”

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Meanwhile, Babar Azam sent his best wishes to Arshad Nadeem through a video message and requested the nation to pray for the star athlete’s victory.

“I wish him good luck. I request everyone to support and pray he wins the final. Chak De Phatte Arshad Nadeem,” he said.

The final of the Javelin Throw event will be played on Thursday, August 8, at 11:25 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and will be telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports Channel A Sports and will also be streamed live on ARY ZAP.

It is worth mentioning here that Arshad Nadeem is Pakistan’s last hope for a medal in the ongoing Paris Olympics as all of their remaining athletes have been knocked out of the medal race.

Pakistan last won a medal in the Olympics during the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, however, Arshad is hopeful that he will once again bring the glory to the country.

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Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat retires after Olympic disqualification

India’s heartbroken Vinesh Phogat on Thursday announced her retirement from wrestling, a day after being disqualified from the women’s 50kg competition at the Paris Olympics 2024 for being overweight for the final.

World bronze medallist Phogat, 29, was in the public eye for months last year as part of a long-running protest against the then-chief of Indian wrestling when he was embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal.

Phogat, who has won three Commonwealth Games gold medals, had been due to face Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States for the gold medal on Wednesday in Paris but was found to be 100 grams over the 50kg limit.

“Mother wrestling won against me, I lost. Your dreams and my courage are shattered,” Phogat wrote on social media platform X.

“I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be indebted to you all. Sorry.”

Hildebrandt took gold in Wednesday’s final against Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who was reprieved after losing her semi-final to Phogat on Tuesday.

Indian media reported that Vinesh Phogat has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against her disqualification and demanded a joint silver to be awarded. CAS is expected to announce its verdict on the case later Thursday in Paris.

Videos of Phogat with chopped hair and sunken eyes, working out to cut her weight down in a last bid to compete in the final went viral on Wednesday.

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Phogat helped lead a weeks-long sit-in protest in New Delhi last year against then-Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, at the time a lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party.

Singh is being tried on accusations of groping female athletes and demanding sexual favours from them — charges he denied.

Wrestling is hugely popular in rural northern India and images of Phogat and other athletes being detained as they tried to march to parliament during the protest went viral on social media.

“You will always remain a winner for us,” Bajrang Punia, a fellow leader of last year’s protests, and a Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, said on social media.

“Apart from being India’s daughter, you are the pride of India.”

Another fellow protest wrestler and Olympic bronze-medallist, Sakshee Malikkh, said “Every daughter has lost for whom you fought and won”.

Vinesh Phogat, who passed the weigh-in on day one, stunned four-time world and defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the opener with a late takedown to claim a 3-2 decision en route to the final.

But Phogat was overweight on the morning of the final, despite the wrestler and her team working overnight to cut the kilos through exercising and sauna.

Modi had backed Phogat in a social media post, saying: “I wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing”.

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Algerian boxer Imane Khelif marches into Paris Olympics final

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who was embroiled in a major gender controversy at the Paris Olympics, won her semi-final on Tuesday to guarantee at least a silver medal in front of a raucous Roland Garros crowd that chanted her name.

Imane Khelif defeated Thailand’s 2023 world silver medallist Janjaem Suwannapheng in a unanimous points decision to march into Friday’s final in the women’s 66kg category.

“I am like all athletes, I am here to achieve my dream,” the Algerian boxer told AFP afterwards.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, the other boxer in the eye of a storm over her eligibility, is herself sure to take home at least bronze at a different weight.

The 25-year-old Khelif and Lin both fought at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago but there was no controversy at the time and neither won a medal.

Both were disqualified from last year’s world championships after failing gender eligibility tests but were cleared to compete in Paris.

Khelif was given the biggest roar of the night as she entered the arena at Roland Garros, usually home to Grand Slam tennis but hosting Olympic boxing and a sizeable number of Algerian fans with flags.

Cries of “Imane, Imane” rang out repeatedly before and during the bout.

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The Thai Janjaem, who had a clear height disadvantage, took a standing count in the third round after feeling the full power of the superior Algerian.

At the end of the fight at the 15,000-seated Court Philippe-Chatrier, which was close to capacity, the two fighters greeted each other warmly and shook hands.

She faces Yang Liu for gold after the Chinese boxer beat Taiwan’s Chen Nien-chin in the other semi-final on points.

“I am focusing on the competition and other things are not important. The important thing is that I am in the final now,” Khelif told BeIN Sports.

“I am very proud of this new achievement. I gave everything I had. We worked as a team for years and the dream has become a reality.”

The beaten Thai moved to play down the furore. “I had heard about the news regarding her, but I wasn’t following it closely,” she said. “She is a woman, but she is very strong.”

For the unversed, the gender controversy ignited when Khelif defeated Angela Carini in 46 seconds in her opening bout in the French capital, the Italian reduced to tears and abandoning the fight after suffering a badly hurt nose.

The 2023 world championships, from which Lin and Khelif were expelled, were run by the International Boxing Association (IBA) but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is organising the sport at the Games because of financial, governance and ethical concerns at the IBA.

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Azhar Ali backs Arshad Nadeem ahead of Javelin Throw Final

Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali congratulated star Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem for qualifying for the final of the Paris Olympics Men’s Javelin Throw.

Nadeem, who is the sole hope of Pakistan for a medal in the ongoing games, qualified in the final round of the Javelin throw earlier today with an 86.59-meter throw in his first attempt.

He eased past into the final round, finishing fourth, while India’s Neeraj Chopra topped the charts with a massive 89.34-meter throw.

Meanwhile, Azhar heaped praise on Arshad for delivering a brilliant performance that propelled him into the final round.

Showcasing his trust in Arshad’s skills and abilities, Azhar expressed his hope that the star athlete would bring the gold medal to the country.

“As you all know Arshad Nadeem has qualified for the Paris Olympics’ Javelin Throw Final. As per our expectations, he performed really well,” said Azhar.

“We hope and pray that he will perform even better in the finals and will win the gold medal for Pakistan,” he added.

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Azhar Ali then told Arshad Nadeem that he was proud of him regardless of the outcome in the final.

“Whatever happens in the final Arshad Nadeem, we are proud of you,” Azhar concluded.

Meanwhile, Arshad expressed his determination to make Pakistan “proud” at the ongoing Paris Olympics.

“I want to make Pakistan proud in the Olympic Games,” Nadeem told a local news channel.

“I hope Neeraj Chopra and I will make our respective countries proud. Neeraj Chopra is a good friend, and we will focus on the final round, he added.

“I am optimistic about delivering a good result in the final,” he maintained while thanking fans for the support.”

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