Arshad Nadeem needs to keep improving his game

By The Taurean

OPINION | 08 August, 2024

Winning Olympic gold is great but his eyes should be set on the future

EVERYBODY loves an underdog and everyone admires a rags-to-riches story. Late on Thursday night in Paris, Arshad Nadeem doffed the attire of an underdog and put on that of a winner. What’s fascinating about his tale is that he can scale even greater heights; he is so talented that he can easily rake in 10-15 gold medals before he quits the sport he loves. But what makes his story even more captivating is that his example can inspire dozens of teenagers to try to reach for the skies.

Speaking of his talent, Paris Olympics was not the first competition in which he threw the javelin 90 metres from the marker. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games he created a Games record with a throw of 90.18m, becoming the first South Asian athlete to breach the 90m mark. At the French capital’s Stade de France he breached that mark twice, one of them turning out to be an Olympic record. He remained several metres ahead of the rest of field throughout the competition.

Once Arshad had ended the gold medal drought the country had been contending with since decades, Pakistanis began announcing cash and other prizes for him. So, within the space of a few hours he became quite rich. At one time his humble beginnings threatened to bar his way to fame and fortune, but his dedication to his sport, his determination to succeed plus a little bit of luck here and there took him over the line.

However, here’s the rub. His newfound moneys have the potential of distracting him, even derailing his career, if he did not figure out quickly how to handle them properly. He may soon be surrounded by people who will look like well-wishers, but who will neither be sincere to him nor to his career as an athlete.

The first thing he needs to realise is that he should focus on his athletic career for the next ten years, if not more. He needs to keep improving his game because his competition will constantly be trying to better his record. All world records are destined to be broken one day.

So, no fancy business ideas for him at the moment. He should just invest his money in a safe business so that it grows at a good rate, and not necessarily at an exceptional rate. I mean after taking care of some of his necessities like building a home or buying a car, he should invest the rest of his money in a business whose progress he doesn’t have to manage himself. Then only can he hope to concentrate on the work at hand.

If he does that he will bring numerous laurels to the country in future as well. Once he retires as an athlete, hopefully after winning a dozen or so gold medals, he can concentrate on mentoring teenagers and coaching them as they try to emulate his example. The authorities would do well to support him in all such endeavours.