The Pakistani athlete Arshad Nadeem has made history by winning the country’s first Olympic medal in athletics, securing gold in the men’s javelin event on Thursday. The 27-year-old athlete from Mian Channu in the Punjab province surpassed the defending champion Neeraj Chopra from India in a dramatic final. Nadeem celebrated his triumph by raising his arms in the air after setting a new Olympic record with his second throw, which measured an impressive 92.97 meters. This throw is also the best in the world this year.

Chopra, who was the clear favorite to win and had previously performed well in the qualifiers, could only achieve a valid throw of 89.45 meters, which turned out to be his only successful attempt out of six. The bronze medal went to Anderson Peters of Grenada, who threw 88.54 meters. This marked a comeback for the two-time world champion, who had missed the final at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

Prior to Nadeem’s achievement, Pakistan had won eight Olympic medals, six of which were in men’s field hockey, and one each in wrestling and boxing. With Nadeem’s victory, this is Pakistan’s first Olympic medal since 1992 when the men’s hockey team won bronze in Barcelona, Spain.

In June, two months before the Olympics, Al Jazeera’s Abid Hussain spent a day with Arshad Nadeem during his preparations for the games. At that time, Nadeem expressed that he felt “strong and fit” for the major event and was “very hopeful for a strong performance in Paris.” The current world record in javelin belongs to Czech athlete Jan Zelezny, who threw 98.48 meters. Nevertheless, the new Olympic record and the end of Pakistan’s long wait for a medal were met with jubilation from Nadeem’s fellow citizens.

Pakistani cricketer Fakhar Zaman expressed his pride in Nadeem’s achievement on the social media platform X, while Nadeem’s mentor, Rasheed Ahmad Saqi, was overwhelmed with emotion following the medal win. “This is God’s miracle and a gift to the entire nation in connection with our Independence Day next week. I am so proud of Arshad,” Saqi told Al Jazeera shortly after the gold medal was confirmed.

Saqi emphasized that he had great faith that Nadeem would win a medal and had anticipated that it would be gold. “I had this conviction that he would break some records. I was sure he would beat his own record or the Olympic record, and he did,” he added.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also acknowledged and congratulated Arshad Nadeem for making history for the country. He stated on X: “You have made the entire nation proud.”