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Arshad Nadeem. (Picture Credit: AP)
Arshad Nadeem joked that his father-in-law should have given him 5-6 acres of land but buffalo is also fine.
Arshad Nadeem has been showered with cash awards and other valuable prizes after he became the first track and field athlete from Pakistan to clinch an Olympic gold medal with his stunning 92.97m effort in the men’s javelin throw final.
Arshad Nadeem’s father-in-law though decided to gift the champion javelin thrower with a buffalo.
During a recent interaction with the media, Nadeem was asked about the gift, Arshad Nadeem said: “She (his wife) told me, I said buffalo? He should have given me 5-6 acres of land but buffalo is also fine. By God’s grace he is so rich and he gave a buffalo.”
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Muhammad Nawaz told the local media in Nadeem’s village on Sunday that gifting a buffalo is considered “very valuable” and “honourable” in their village.
“Nadeem also takes great pride in his roots and despite the success, his home still remains his village and he still lives with his parents and brothers,” said Nawaz.
The father-in-law added that he had four sons and three daughters, and his youngest daughter, Ayesha, was married to Nadeem.
Hailing from the rural area of Khanewal in Punjab, Nadeem had very limited means to train and travel abroad for competitions, with fellow villagers and relatives donating money so that he could compete abroad in his early days.
Nawaz also said that when he decided to marry his daughter to Nadeem, he was a man of limited means but had the hunger to do well in sports for which he used to train in village fields.
“When we decided to marry our daughter to Nadeem six years back, at that time he used to do small jobs and run errands but was extremely passionate about his sport and constantly practised throwing the javelin at home and in the fields,” said Nawaz.
Nawaz added that he was very happy with Nadeem’s success and fame, adding that the javelin thrower, who became the first individual medallist from the country, was very respectful towards everyone.
“Whenever he comes to our house he never complains about anything and eats whatever is there at our home,” he said.
“Two of his children have started going to the local primary school in the village while one son is still very young.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
