“I will give everything for Pakistan, until my legs work, I will keep fighting,” says Pakistan’s star athlete Arshad Nadeem, who has returned to training after returning from the UK where he underwent treatment on his right his knee.
The javelin thrower became the first Pakistani to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last August.
He reached 87.82 meters and qualified directly for the Olympics for the second time in a row, despite a long-term injury.
He had later decided to skip the Asian Games in October 2023 to rest as he had achieved his goal of qualifying for the Olympics and for the first time chose to rest rather than compete with an injury.
Arshad was treated by Dr Ali Bajwa less than six months before the Paris Olympics and stayed in Cambridge for almost two weeks.
The 27-year-old said he is gradually easing back into training, but this time he is being careful with the knee.
He said he would find out his status as an elite athlete in just a month.
“I am slowly and steadily trying to get back into training, but I will know where I stand regarding the Paris Olympics after a month on the court,” Arshad told The Express Tribune.
“I had this treatment that was different than what I had done before on my left knee. It was conventional surgery and it took me a few weeks to start putting on weight.
“This time, the laser surgery had a different effect. I can put weight on my knee in just two days,” Arshad revealed.
“I had planned to start throwing slowly, so I’ll see where I really stand after a month. My goal is to recover in time.”
The Mian Chunnu-based athlete added that he wants to compete in at least one international event before the Olympics, while hoping to train in South Africa for a few weeks as well.
“The outdoor internationals start on March 15 so I’ll be looking to compete in the Diamond League before the Olympics, if all goes well,
“I would like to compete in a few events, then there is also a plan to train in South Africa with the same coach I trained with before, but mainly I will be training in Lahore with coach Salman Butt. He’s done so much hard work with me, from the last Olympics when I had an injury until now, he’s been with me, making sure I get treatment and everything, if he hadn’t worked so hard with me, I don’t think I could have achieved so much ».
When asked if Arshad is worried about the timely recovery and the entire period that has passed since August 22, 2023, when he won the silver medal in Budapest to continue with the injured knee till now, his answer was optimistic and simple. a.
“I wasn’t worried, I really haven’t panicked at all this time because I have it in me to do my best, I’ve fought with injured knees and elbows before.
“Like that right knee was bothering me before the World Championships, but I was careful and managed the training accordingly, I performed accordingly, I got the medal at the World Championships with the injury, before that my left knee was also injured, so I’m not worried how I would play, I was always optimistic and Allah helped me.
“I was in Cambridge and I had the surgery. I just hope to be back in shape in a month. I don’t worry about those things because I’ve competed in so many events with injury that now I have experience how to handle it.”
When asked about his views on Pakistan’s progress in athletics, he said that there is a lot of talent in Pakistan. However, athletes need a suitable training ground dedicated to the disciplines of athletics, suitable gymnasiums and access to existing facilities.
“We need facilities, athletics fields, the local coaches who have worked so hard and are giving their all, but we need international standard coaching and expertise,” said the 2018 Asian Games bronze medalist.
He highlighted the issue faced by many sportsmen during the Pakistan Super League PSL season as non-cricket sportsmen have a difficult time accessing the existing facilities in Lahore.
“Now that the PSL has started, which also conflicts with the schedule for athletes preparing for international events, it will be so difficult to reach the ground for training.”
“We are all international level athletes who have won honors for the country but usually we face this problem that the Punjab ground is not available for training because there is some university event or it is closed due to PSL or some school event. it happens. So these things matter, it bothers the athletes quite a bit,” he lamented.”
“We are not asking for much, but it would be nice, not only for me but also for others, if we had the schedule and the specific time that we can train on the ground. So far, in the four years since I’ve been at the Olympics, this basic need has not been met.
“I train at three places in Lahore, the ground, where I train for my technique, then a pool that I have permission to use at the Punjab Sports Board facility, and then there is weight training, a gym at Punjab University, so I do I have to go to three places,” explained Arshad.
He said it’s even easier because people recognize him from the news and let him pass. But other athletes have a hard time training.
In many videos made over the years, we can see that even in the Punjab Sports Board hostel, the sleeping arrangements for Arshad are horrible. Being a kind and patient person, Arshad said he is just grateful for what he gets.
“I’ve just been playing and competing for Pakistan whether they give us anything or not, my aim has always been to make Pakistan proud, that’s what I’ve always done,” Arshad said.
He has hardly spent any time with his family since returning from England on February 12 and is now back in Lahore to begin preparations for the Olympics.
“Break the 32-year drought”
Arshad said his aim was to win the Olympic medal.
“It’s been a long time since Pakistan won any medal in Olympics, what was it, 1992 when we won it last in hockey? My goal is to win this medal for real and I will do everything I can to achieve it,” said the father-of-two before saying goodbye at the end of the debate.
There are many things that Arshad would never talk about as he is committed to Pakistan, wants to continue the journey in the international arena and is grateful for the opportunity, but there are things that cannot be ignored and it is a crime that they have not been rectified until moment.
The observations so far are not pleasant
The biggest takeaway from Arshad’s journey is that he has an indomitable spirit and has fought against the odds to reach the elite level of international athletics that no one has achieved in the country before him despite the professionalism or proper infrastructure provided to him.
He was able to make history internationally despite being a Pakistani and not because of it.
This correspondent learned that Arshad has an international standard javelin which has now gone crooked as he has been using it for a year.
It is a painful reality, but mostly shameful for the government of Pakistan, the private sector that can support it and the authorities as a whole.
If Arshad was in any other country that prioritized and celebrated incredible feats of Arshad, he would have at least five to six javelins to practice with.
An ideal javelin would be from Nordic, a highly rated brand that he only used when competing in international events.
Right now, Arshad has only one javelin from Nameth, a brand he started using only two to three years ago.
In other scenarios before this, Arshad had to train with locally made javelins, which are often painful to train with after a while, and increase the chances of injury as they strain the shoulder and elbows.
There is no dedicated gym for Arshad, for more than four years he has been Pakistan’s main hope for a medal at the Olympics, continental games, and what have you, but none of the investments have been made to make his life easy.
There are no specialized venues and athletes still have to wait their turn to train at government facilities that should be there for them on a high priority, instead they find these venues closed when they need them to train.
The question is what has Pakistan given these incredible young athletes?
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