Arshad Nadeem Olympics Congratulations: Pakistan Hockey Stalwarts Feel Offended Over PM’s Dinner Invitation Withdrawal

Arshad Nadeem is currently the most popular athlete from Pakistan. The javelin thrower ended a long drought of Olympic gold medals for his country when he won the event at the 2024 Paris Games with a record of 92.97m. After returning to his country, Nadeem has been praised from all quarters. He was recently rewarded with 10 million Pakistani rupees and a brand new car by the Punjab government for his historic achievement.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz handed over the cash prize and car keys to Nadeem when she visited Nadeem’s village in Mian Chunnu to meet him and his family. “Arshad deserves everything he gets because he has brought so much joy and pride to the nation,” she said.

However, former hockey player Rao Saleem Nazim on Saturday alleged that the Pakistani government had insulted several Olympians by cancelling their invitations to the gala dinner in honour of Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem in the name of hospitality management.

Nadeem jumped to a distance of 92.97 meters, breaking the Olympic record and en route to a sensational title at the recent Olympic Games in Paris.

“The Prime Minister’s Office had sent invitations to several hockey players to attend the meeting and all of them received an email confirming their invitation,” said Rao, who heads the forum of former Pakistani hockey players.

“But at the last minute, many of us received a message from the Prime Minister’s Office that they had withdrawn the invitations as they found it difficult to adjust the number of guests,” he added.

The Olympian questioned the treatment of former Pakistani players during a function honouring an Olympic gold medallist.

“Is this how you show respect to players who have brought not one but several Olympic hockey medals for the country,” Rao added.

Incidentally, the last gold medal Pakistan won at the Olympics was in 1983 in Los Angeles, when Pakistan won the hockey final. The last time Pakistan won a medal at the Summer Games was also in 1992, when the team won a bronze medal.

The Pakistan hockey team has failed to qualify for the last three Olympic Games.

With PTI inputs