Arshad Nadeem has made history by claiming Pakistan’s first-ever track and field medal at the Olympics, where he claimed gold in the men’s javelin final in Paris. 

The 27-year-old claimed victory over defending champion Neeraj Chopra of India and broke the Olympic record at the Stade de France on Thursday. 

Nadeem’s second throw landed a record-breaking 92.27 meters, breaking both the Olympic and the World records. 

Chopra, comfortably ahead in the qualifiers and the favourite to win, could not maintain the same level as Nadeem but still claimed silver, with a best score of 89.45 meters. 

Anderson Peters of Grenada won bronze with a score of 88.54 meters, a redeemable feat for the two-time world champion who failed to make it to the final at the Tokyo Games four years ago. 

However, the man from Mian Channu, a small town in the eastern Punjab province, came back from a knee injury earlier this year and made history for his country despite the ill-equipped athletics facilities in Pakistan. 

Pakistan previously won six medals in men’s hockey, one in wrestling and one in boxing, the last of which was in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992. 

Arshad said: “I was fit enough to do well in Tokyo, but I could not perform well at the time. After the Olympics, I worked hard and won the gold at the Commonwealth Games. After that, I even tried harder to maintain my rhythm. 

“And today, I won the gold for the country.” 

He continued: “I credit my gold medal to my coach for helping me to be in top form at the Olympics.”