07 June 2024 – Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem made history at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 as the first Pakistani athlete to qualify for an Olympic athletics final, eventually finishing fifth. With his sights now on Paris 2024 and the support of an Olympic Solidarity scholarship, he tells us more about his rivalry and friendship with reigning javelin world champion Neeraj Chopra, and his hopes for the development of athletics back home.

Following his successful Olympic debut, Arshad Nadeem continued to break new ground by winning a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a new personal-best throw, before claiming a silver medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships – Pakistan’s first-ever medal at the competition.

Now, Nadeem is hoping to make history again this summer in Paris. And this time, he is benefitting not only from the experience of previously competing at the Games, but also from the support of an Olympic Solidarity scholarship, which he described as “a great help”.

“The support through the scholarship has been a great help with a lot of things that were needed – a lot of things that were rudimentary to javelin throwing and athletics,” Nadeem said. “It has helped me towards achieving my goals.”

Friendship and rivalry with Neeraj Chopra

While Nadeem has his sights set on a podium finish in the French capital, he insisted he was not thinking about another exciting showdown with India’s Neeraj Chopra, the reigning javelin world champion.

Nadeem and Chopra may be fierce competitors, but away from the field they have developed a firm friendship.

“Neeraj Chopra is a good friend,” Nadeem explained. “I’ve maintained a good, friendly relationship with him. Ultimately, I’m competitive, I’m his rival; but I compete against myself, not against any athlete. My competition is with myself.”

The pair had been set to come up against each other at the 2023 Asian Games in October before an MRI scan revealed Nadeem was carrying a chronic knee injury. Reluctant to harm his chances of participating at Paris 2024, Nadeem made the difficult decision to withdraw on the eve of the javelin final and underwent surgery to address the problem. Now back to full fitness again, he is in training for the Olympics, where he will be “fighting for a medal”.

The future of athletics in Pakistan

Nadeem will have the hopes of the nation on his shoulders in the French capital, where he aims to become Pakistan’s first-ever track-and-field athlete to finish on the Olympic podium, as well as his country’s first Olympic medallist since Barcelona 1992.

He said he was not feeling the pressure ahead of Paris 2024, but acknowledged his role in raising the visibility of athletics in Pakistan.

“Lots of athletes in Pakistan were really inspired by my performances at the last Commonwealth Games, World Championship and the Islamic Games, across which I won a silver and two gold medals,” he said.

“A lot of people followed me and discovered javelin. I’m hoping, praying and working hard towards achieving my next goal, which is becoming an Olympic champion. I hope to inspire a lot of other people towards athletics and javelin.”

Arshad Nadeem – Olympic Solidarity scholarship holder, Pakistan

Nadeem explained that the organisation of athletics in Pakistan can lack structure, and he hopes to drive change in his home country for future athletes.

“I’d like to develop a structure – along with the athletics federation and my coach,” he said. “Together we want to build a good network of athletics, and from which athletes can benefit from a good culture.”

He often has little support in Pakistan when preparing for competitions – and this is where the funding from the Olympic Solidarity scholarship has proved invaluable, with Nadeem choosing to prepare for Paris 2024 in South Africa. He hopes athletes will continue to benefit from this same level of support for years to come.

“I hope the scholarship will continue for the future and the next generation of Olympic athletes,” he concluded.

Over 1,300 athletes supported through Olympic Solidarity

A total of 1,331 athletes from 159 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), covering 26 sports, received Olympic Solidarity scholarships for Paris 2024. Olympic Solidarity aims to ensure that talented athletes of all backgrounds have an equal chance of reaching and succeeding in the Olympic arena by providing crucial funding to help finance their Olympic dreams. With a particular focus on athletes and NOCs most in need, individual scholarship-holders receive financial support through monthly grants that contribute to their preparation and qualification for the Games, whether in their home country or at a high-level training centre elsewhere.