Tag: Tokyo Olympics

  • Olympian Neeraj Chopra disappointed with ‘vested interest’ of Indian Media

    Olympian Neeraj Chopra disappointed with ‘vested interest’ of Indian Media

    Indian Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has come out in defence of his fellow javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem saying that there was nothing wrong in what Nadeem did on the field.

    He slammed netizens and Indian media for spreading propaganda.

    Chopra tweeted a video with the caption:”I would request everyone to please not use me and my comments as a medium to further your vested interests and propaganda. Sports teaches us to be together and united. I’m extremely disappointed to see some of the reactions from the public on my recent comments.”

    In the video, Neeraj says, “I want to say that one issue has come up about something I said in an interview; that I took the javelin from Arshad Nadeem, the Pakistani javelin thrower. So, a huge controversy is being created around this statement.

    “It’s a very simple thing. We (javelin throwers) keep our personal javelins at the field and everyone and anyone can use that javelin. It is a rule. So, there’s nothing wrong in it. He was just preparing for his throw with that javelin and then I asked for the javelin back.

    “So it is not such a big thing, and I am very sad that some people are using my name to create a big issue about it. I request you to not do it. Sports teaches all of us to walk together.”

    Neeraj also requested people not to use his name as a medium to further their vested interests and propagandas. “I would request everyone to please not use me and my comments as a medium to further your vested interests and propaganda. Sports teaches us to be together and united. I’m extremely disappointed to see some of the reactions from the public on my recent comments.”

    “All of us javelin throwers share a lot of love. We all have good conversations. So please refrain from saying things that will hurt us,” Neeraj concluded.

    The 23-year-old athlete is the first Gold medal winner after the 2008 Beijing Olympics for India. Abhinav Bindra was the last person to win a Gold medal for India, while Arshad stood fifth in the contest.

  • Waqar Zaka welcomes national hero Arshad Nadeem, rewards $5000

    Waqar Zaka welcomes national hero Arshad Nadeem, rewards $5000

    Waqar Zaka has welcomed Arshad Nadeem at the Lahore airport and rewarded him with $5000 (10 lac Pakistani rupees) as a token of appreciation as the athlete qualified for the final competition of ‘Javelin throw’ at the Tokyo Olympics.

    Arshad was given a warm welcome upon his return to Pakistan.

    In his hometown, Mian Channu, he was welcomed by a crowd of admirers chanting his name alongside slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad”.

    https://twitter.com/makhdoomab/status/1425589111390457859?s=20

    Yesterday, the Punjab government announced a cash prize worth one million rupees each for javelin thrower Arshad, weightlifter Talha Talib and mountaineer Shehroz Kashif for their recent celestial performances at the Olympics.

    Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimur Khan Bhatti said Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar will hand the cash prizes to all the three athletes.

    “Arshad Nadeem is the first Pakistani track and field athlete who directly qualified [for Olympics],” said Rai Taimur Khan Bhatti.

    He added, “Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib both made Pakistan famous.”

  • Olympian Arshad Nadeem requests fans to follow his official Twitter account

    Olympian Arshad Nadeem requests fans to follow his official Twitter account

    Pakistani Olympian Arshad Nadeem has requested his fans to follow his official Twitter account instead of fake accounts.

    Sharing a video on his Twitter account, Arshad said that he posted a video on Twitter and Instagram and made an apology for sharing the wrong information about his social media account.

    “Sorry I said 26 instead of 76. I was supposed to say Arshad Nadeem 76 and mistakenly I said 26. I don’t know who that person is but he has made an account with the name of Arshad Nadeem 26. So, kindly follow my official Twitter account with the handle name ‘Arshad Nadeem 76’.”

    https://twitter.com/Arshadnadeem76/status/1425278074501861382?s=20

    The 24-year-old athlete from Mian Channu finished fifth in the javelin throw event at the Tokyo Olympics and received wide acclaim back home for his achievement with little resources at his disposal.

  • Punjab govt announces Rs1 million cash rewards for Arshad, Talha and Shehroz

    Punjab govt announces Rs1 million cash rewards for Arshad, Talha and Shehroz

    The Punjab government on Tuesday announced cash rewards of Rs1 million for javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, weightlifter Talha Talib and mountaineer Shehroz Kashif for their recent stellar performances at the global level.

    Read More – CM Punjab Buzdar promises to ensure better sporting facilities for youth

    Nadeem missed out on an Olympic medal and finished fifth in the javelin throw event at the Tokyo Olympics, but the athlete from Mian Chunnu received wide acclaim back home for his achievement with little resources at his disposal.

    Similarly, 21-year-old weightlifter Talha Talib from Gujranwala took part in the 67kg category in the Tokyo Olympics and held the gold medal spot until the final round before eventually being bumped down and finishing fifth in the competition. However, he was widely hailed in the country for his effort.

    Kashif, 19, had on July 27 become the youngest person to reach the summit of K2. The world’s second-highest peak at a height of 8,611 metres (28,251 foot) above sea level, with the aid of bottled oxygen.

    Hailing the athletes for their remarkable gains, Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimur Khan Bhatti said the nation watched the Tokyo Olympics with zeal, while Pakistan’s participants Nadeem and Talib “did really well” in the competition.

    Addressing a press conference, Bhatti said he would personally visit the airport to receive Nadeem. The minister said that the Government of Punjab had always supported and encouraged sports persons.

    He also announced an award of Rs0.5m for Nadeem’s coach.

    The minister further said the Punjab government would bear travel expenses of Haider Ali and Nabila Baig, who will take part in the Paralympic Games.

  • ‘Arshad Nadeem played cricket very well’: Meera refers to him as a ‘Cricketer’

    ‘Arshad Nadeem played cricket very well’: Meera refers to him as a ‘Cricketer’

    Actor Meera’s recent press interaction has gone viral on the web as she appreciated Arshad Nadeem for his ‘cricket performance’ instead of ‘Javelin Throw’.

    Read More – Arshad Nadeem’s failure in the Olympics because of extensive use of social media: Chief, Pak team

    “Arshad played good cricket and he uplifted Pakistan’s name. A lot of hard work was visible in his performance. There was honesty, discipline in his body language. I think the government should acknowledge our heroes and reward them,” she said.

    The clip from this interview has gone viral on social media and has received polarizing response from the netizens.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Arshad finished fifth in the Javelin Throw event of the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He threw fifth-best throw covering a distance of 84.62m.

  • Arshad Nadeem’s failure in the Olympics because of extensive use of social media: Chief, Pak team

    Arshad Nadeem’s failure in the Olympics because of extensive use of social media: Chief, Pak team

    Pakistan contingent’s chef-de-mission to the Tokyo Olympics Brig Zaheer Akhtar expressed his displeasure over missing a golden opportunity of winning a medal that could have been a Gold even, as highly talented Arshad Nadeem was capable of touching the 90-meter mark, had he and his coach stayed focused on achieving the ultimate goal prior to the finals, reports Abdul Mohi Shah for The News.

    “Nonstop social media usage by Arshad and his coach in between the qualifying and final rounds turned out to be the main reason behind this failure,” said Brig Zaheer.

    Talking to The News from Tokyo, Brig Zaheer said Arshad looked set to topple even the best as he gave an early indication of his talent during the qualifying round.

    “When he sent javelin to over 85 meters in the qualifying round, Indian coach who trained the Gold medalist Chopra was on record to have said that Arshad was the biggest threat to his athlete, having all the potential to win even Gold. Such was the impact of his qualifying round performance where he hardly put his full effort and yet he reached over 85. The Indian camp was wary of Arshad and his potential.”

    Brig Zaheer said despite clear instructions, both Arshad and his coach Fayyaz Bokhari were seen using social media uninterruptedly. Later, it was learnt that they even sent premature videos back home halfway into the competition, which “surely was an act of total indiscipline”.

    The contingent’s chef-de-mission said he had absolutely no doubt in Arshad’s inborn talent.

    “His coach was even talking on the telephone when finals were going on but I don’t know to whom he was talking to. That is the reason why Arshad did not know that time was running out for his final throw. His half-hearted last attempt was made in haste. With J Vetter already out, it should have been a direct contest between Arshad and Chopra for a Gold medal. Sadly that could not happen more due to Arshad and his coach’s excessive use of social media in between the qualifying round and finals.”

  • CM Punjab Buzdar promises to ensure better sporting facilities for youth

    CM Punjab Buzdar promises to ensure better sporting facilities for youth

    Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has promised to ensure better sporting facilities for youth in Pakistan.

    Taking to Twitter, CM said: “The whole nation is proud of Arshad Nadeem. He finished in top 5 but his determination will motivate and inspire Millions of Pakistanis.”

    “Punjab Government will Insha Allah ensure more and better sporting facilities for our youth to follow in the footsteps of Talha Talib and Arshad Nadeem,” said the CM.

    While several others encouraged both Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib for their efforts in Olympics without any facility.

    Here are a few tweets from politicians, sportsmen and notables, encouraging Nadeem:

    https://twitter.com/76Shadabkhan/status/1423980451782397961?s=20

    Arshad congratulated the gold medalist Neeraj Chopra and apologised from the nation for letting them down.

    https://twitter.com/ArshadNadeemPak/status/1423983262406483972?s=20

    The 24-year-old athlete finished fifth among 12 contestants as India’s Neeraj won gold and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely claimed silver and bronze medals.

    Arshad Nadeem was aspiring to win Pakistan’s first Olympics medal since the men’s hockey team earned a podium finish in 1992.

    The athlete made history last week as he became first-ever Pakistani athlete to qualify for the final of any track and field event in the Olympics.

  • ‘Will give reward to Arshad Nadeem if he wins Gold in Olympics’: Hassan Ali

    ‘Will give reward to Arshad Nadeem if he wins Gold in Olympics’: Hassan Ali

    Pakistani fast bowler Hassan Ali has praised Arshad Nadeem for qualifying for the Javelin Throw event’s final in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics 2020.

    Speaking to reporters via an online link on Wednesday, Hassan said that Arshad is the pride of Pakistan and he will reward him for winning the Olympics medal.

    “I am happy for Arshad and tweeted on his achievement. He is the real face of Pakistan as he reached Olympics from a small town in Pakistan. I will give a reward to him if he wins a Gold medal in the event,” he said.

    Arshad will be participating for the final contest on August 7.

  • Celebrities laud Arshad Nadeem for hitting a milestone at Olympics

    Celebrities laud Arshad Nadeem for hitting a milestone at Olympics

    Notable members of the entertainment industry have expressed their appreciation for a ‘Javelin Throw’ player Arshad Nadeem who has secured the first position in the qualifying round of Javelin throw finals in Tokyo Olympics 2020 and made Pakistan proud.

    Nadeem was in group B of the qualification event and topped his group to make it to the finals. His overall performance marked him as the third-highest thrower in both the groups combined, behind India’s Neeraj Chopra and Germany’s world number one Johannes Vetter.

    Here’s a list of tweets of mainstream celebrities, congratulating Arshad on his achievement:

    Celebrities also wished him luck for the final contest on August 7.

  • US gymnast Suni Lee to delete Twitter after blaming missing out on gold due to social media

    US gymnast Suni Lee to delete Twitter after blaming missing out on gold due to social media

    US gymnast Suni Lee has put her imperfect performance on the uneven bars down to being distracted by social media.

    A break-out star at the Tokyo Olympics, Lee won gold in the individual all-around and silver in the team all-around at this year’s games.

    Her achievements made history, as she became the first Asian-American woman to win gold in the Olympics’ all-around competition.

    The 18-year-old also took bronze for the uneven bars, but despite her success, told reporters she had been disappointed not to do better, explaining that she considered the bars to be “my thing”.

    Lee was the clear favourite to win the uneven bars final, but uncharacteristic errors and an uneven performance meant Belgium’s Nina Derwael and Russia’s Anastasiia Iliankova were able to take first and second place.

    “Bars is something I really cherish,” Lee said after the competition, reports the Associated Press. “So when I mess it up, it really sucks.”

    Lee was positive about being able to go home with bronze, silver and gold medals, but expressed regret that her wins weren’t exactly what she had envisioned:

    “It’s really cool,” Lee said in the report. “I just wish the bronze medal was a beam medal, not bars.”

    Explaining to People, Lee said she thought social media had played a part in her being less than her best on Sunday, saying she had “got distracted and lost focus a little bit when I won the gold medal” in the all-around three days earlier.

    She also admitted that she has spent a lot of time on social media while in Tokyo.