"Meray Walid Mistari Thay Tu...", Arshad Nadeem Nay Apni Struggle Ki Kahani Sunadi
Transcript
00:00At that time, what was your rank among the brothers and sisters?
00:03My rank is that three brothers are older than me and one sister is older than me.
00:07I am the fourth and fifth in the family.
00:09One sister and two brothers are younger than me.
00:12So, you told me that your father was a carpenter.
00:14Did your brothers also work for the household expenses?
00:19At that time, my father used to work alone.
00:22So, my brothers were older than me.
00:24After that, when I started playing the game,
00:29my father told me to come to athletics instead of playing cricket.
00:35So, I paid more attention to athletics.
00:38How happy would your father be?
00:40He is very happy.
00:41He still says that I told you to come to athletics and leave cricket.
00:46So, he will see that his parents will be happy.
00:50Yes, Alhamdulillah.
00:51Did you see any difficulties at home at that time?
00:57My father used to work.
01:00He never let us face any difficulties.
01:02Okay, you didn't let him face any difficulties.
01:04Yes, but we used to feel that my father used to work so hard in the morning and evening.
01:09We used to feel that.
01:11So, we had to follow his orders.
01:13Okay.
01:15You said that this was your first youth festival.
01:18If I fast forward to the time before the Paris Olympics,
01:22the Olympics will be held in August.
01:25So, when did you start preparing for the Olympics?
01:29I started preparing for the Olympics after Tokyo Olympics.
01:32Okay.
01:33I had surgery for my right elbow on both my knees.
01:37After that, I kept getting injuries.
01:41I used to handle that as well.
01:42Since then, I had set a goal that the Olympics will be held in 2024.
01:48So, I had to prepare a lot for that.
01:50What was the reason for the injury? Was it because of javelin?
01:53Yes, it was because of the javelin.
01:55The injury is a part of the game.
01:57It's a part of the game and most of the javelin throwers
02:01get injuries because of the javelin.
02:03Okay.
02:05Because of you, millions of people in this country got to know about this sport.
02:13How much does the javelin weigh?
02:17It weighs 800 grams.
02:19800 grams.
02:20It's not only at the international level.
02:21If you want to play, or if you want to join a team in Pakistan,
02:25for example, I have a job in Wabda and there are competitions in Wabda.
02:28Even there, the javelin weighs 800 grams.
02:31There's a difference in the quality.
02:32For example, if you buy a brand,
02:35most of the international players like the Nordica and Nemat javelins.
02:42Okay.
02:43Are there any international javelins in Pakistan?
02:45No, not in Pakistan.
02:47Okay. So, where do they come from?
02:48They come from out of the country.
02:50International javelins are not made in Pakistan?
02:51International javelins are not made in Pakistan.
02:54How much is the javelin that you're talking about?
02:57If you order it from abroad in Pakistan, it costs 7-8 lakh rupees.
03:01Okay.
03:03So, this is a very good answer.
03:06How many javelins did you have before the Olympics?
03:09Before the Olympics, I performed very well in the Tokyo Olympics.
03:13I was a hobby.
03:14After that, I met the army chief, Mr. Bajwa.
03:17He gave me a javelin.
03:19Was it from abroad?
03:20I got it from Dubai.
03:21Okay.
03:22Two months before going to Dubai,
03:25the government helped me.
03:26With their help, I went to South Africa for training.
03:31Did the government of Pakistan support you?
03:32Yes.
03:33They gave me three javelins.
03:35I trained with them for about a month and a half.
03:38So, you had three javelins before or you only had one?
03:40I only had one.
03:41I read about Neeraj. He's a very good friend of yours.
03:44It's true that we were comparing how you performed well in such a small facility
03:50and how good it is for others.
03:52And it's a good thing.
03:53It's not a criticism. It's a good thing.
03:55So, I read that Neeraj has about 177 javelins.
03:57Is it true?
03:59Yes, if you look at Neeraj Chopra, he has world-class facilities.
04:05He lives abroad and trains there.
04:08So, in Pakistan, I didn't have a world-class javelin.
04:12I did have javelins, but they weren't used there.
04:16As soon as they came to me, I trained for a month and a half.
04:19I had one javelin, but it's broken now.
04:21Because I trained with only one javelin.
04:24So, look at what God has given me today.
04:26So, Neeraj Chopra, or all the others,
04:30some have 177 javelins, some have 150, some have more.
04:34Was Ashram Nadeem Chopra's javelin number one or was it three?
04:36And that's how you did it.
04:37Alhamdulillah.
04:37You did it.
04:38Alhamdulillah.
04:40Who is the eldest among you and Neeraj?
04:42I thought it was Neeraj's brother.
04:45I think he's the same age as me.
04:48Really?
04:48Yes.
04:49When did you become friends with Neeraj?
04:52I played a competition with him.
04:54I won the All-Punjab Cup from 2012 to 2015.
04:58In 2015, I joined WABDA in Lesko.
05:01That's when my international career started.
05:03I played my first competition there.
05:05Did you meet Neeraj there?
05:08I met him in 2016.
05:09That was my first competition with him.
05:11The South Asian Games were held in Guwahati, India.
05:13That was my first competition there.
05:15It's obvious that when players enter the field,
05:20they don't have any personal enmity.
05:21They have a connection.
05:22That's a good thing.
05:24But everyone thought that you and Neeraj were best friends.
05:28Is there a special reason for that?
05:29It's a good thing.
05:30The thing is, if you look at it,
05:32I won the South Asian Games bronze medal in Pakistan
05:35within six months.
05:36I also broke the Pakistan record.
05:39That's when Neeraj Chowdhury told me
05:41that I had never seen such a big thrower from Pakistan.
05:45That's when we started talking.
05:46Did Neeraj encourage you?
05:48Yes.
05:49That's when we started talking.
05:51That's amazing.
05:52His mother asked him a question.
05:56She said,
05:57I have never seen such a big thrower from Pakistan.
06:01I have never seen such a big thrower from Pakistan.
06:04I have never seen such a big thrower from Pakistan.