Surprise for Pakistan’s gold medallist Arshad Nadeem; why he received buffalo as Gift from his father-in-law

Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem is married to Muhammad Nawaz’s youngest daughter
The father-in-law of Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s Olympic gold medallist, has decided to gift the javelin thrower a buffalo on his return home.

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.

Nadeem won the javelin throw event in Paris with an Olympic Games record of 92.97 metres, pushing India’s Neeraj Chopra to second spot.

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.

Showering praise on his son-in-law, Nawaz said, “Whenever he comes to our house he never complains about anything and eats whatever is there at our home.” Nadeem is very humble and respectful towards everyone, his father-in-law said.

He said despite not being a financially well-off youth, he decided Nadeem was the right man for his daughter Ayseha after watching him train in the village fields. His hunger to succeed in sports said a lot about his willpower, Nawaz recollected. Today his daughter and the sports star are the parents of three. 

“Two of his children have started going to the local primary school in the village while one son is still very young,” Nawaz was quoted as telling a local media by news agency PTI. 

“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.