Pakistan Olympic hero Arshad Nadeem jokes with father-in-law, says 'would have preferred land over buffalo'

Pakistan’s Paris Olympics 2024 hero Arshad Nadeem has been a big talking point after he clinched the nation’s first gold medal in four decades at the quadrennial event last week. While Arshad continues to receive a hero’s reception, he and his father-in-law have been in the spotlight since he received a buffalo as a gift for winning the Olympic gold medal in javelin throw. However, the Pakistan Ace said would have preferred something else over the buffalo when he joked on live television in an interview where he was also accompanied by his wife.

Arshad jokes over buffalo gift

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"She was the one who told me and I said buffalo? He could have given me five acres of land. But then I said fine, he gave me a buffalo, that is also nice," Nadeem said on ARY News.

“She learned about it through some interviews, and she came and told me about it. I said, 'A buffalo? By God's grace, he is so rich, and he gave a buffalo?'" said Nadeem.

At the Paris Olympics, Arshad won the gold medal in the javelin throw for Pakistan and ended the nation’s Olympic drought having carried the weight of the entire country. He was the flag bearer for the nation and smashed the Olympic record to win the gold medal with a throw of 92.97 metres.

ALSO READ |‘I am struggling with my anxiety, I have nightmares, flashbacks’ – Flintoff recalls horrific road crash

Coming into the Olympics as one of the favourites to challenge the defending champion, Neeraj Chopra of India, Arshad was set to end the nation’s drought at the quadrennial event. Not only did he cross the coveted 90-m mark once but did it twice during his six throws to set up a benchmark for the nation. Nadeem with the Olympic medal became only the third Pakistani athlete to win an individual medal at the Olympics.

He joined Hussain Shah (1998 Seoul Olympics bronze) and Muhammad Bashir (1960 Rome Olympics bronze) to have won individual Olympic medals for the nation.

Overall Arshad’s gold medal was Pakistan’s fourth in their history having won three in field hockey in the past. The last gold medal for the nation came at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 with the last medal of any sort coming at the Barcelona Games in 1992 where they again won bronze in field hockey.