Olympic finalist Arshad Nadeem had no ground to practice, says father

Pakistani Olympian Arshad Nadeem’s father has claimed that he had no ground to practice and worked on his own without any support from the government.

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According to Geo News, Muhammad Ashraf, father of javelin thrower Arshad, revealed that his son did not even have a ground to practice.

Muhammad Ashraf further shared that Arshad was initially interested in cricket but he suggested his son try javelin throw instead.

Nadeem’s father, who works as a mason to bear the expenses of Arshad’s training, said that Arshad trained in his own house’s courtyard and streets. Money for fitness machines was also provided by his father.

He added that the government provided no support to Arshad and the expenses of sending him to Multan, Faisalabad, and Lahore for practice were completely borne by him.

Arshad’s younger brother is also a javelin thrower and he is in Lahore for training.

Muhammad Ashraf demanded that the government support young athletes and build grounds where athletes can practice.

Arshad topped his group during the group stage competition and ranked third in both the groups. He will be participating in the final contest on August 7.

Taking to Twitter, Arshad appealed to the people of Pakistan to pray for him for the final competition.