Arshad Nadeem awarded gold medal at Paris Olympics ceremony

Arshad Nadeem, who created history by returning the Olympic glory to Pakistan after 32 years, has received his gold medal in the men's javelin throw at a ceremony on Friday, hours after he broke the record.

The winning podium was set in the Champions Park near the Eiffel Tower in the French capital.

The 27-year-old ace javelin thrower became the first-ever individual athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in the country's history. He was the only athlete to surpass the 90-meter mark twice at the Paris Olympics with his final throw being 91.79 meters.

Besides Arshad, all athletes who won medals on the 13th day of the world's biggest sports gala, received their medals in today's ceremony.

The national athlete made history yesterday at the mega sporting event by registering a new Olympic record with a 92.97m throw in the second attempt. The record was enough for him to win the competition as others remained far behind.

He broke the record of Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen who set it at the 2008 Beijing Games.

The defending gold medalist India's Neeraj Chopra secured another finish at the podium with a silver medal with his season-best throw of 89.45m.

The javelin thrower also brought home the first Olympic gold after 40 long years in any discipline. Pakistan had earlier won gold medals only in hockey, the last being at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

The last time Pakistan won any medal in the Olympic games was 32 years ago in 1992 when the national hockey team clinched bronze by defeating the Netherlands 4-3 at the Barcelona Olympics.

In an exclusive conversation with Geo News earlier today, the national athlete had said: "It was my day. I could have thrown it at a greater distance."

He revealed the reason behind his win, saying he was "in the rhythm" and "hopeful" to win the gold medal with how far he had launched the javelin.

Nadeem also expressed his wish to celebrate Independence Day (August 14) with the medal.