Pakistan pins its hopes on Arshad Nadeem on 32nd anniversary of last Olympic win

Pakistan is pinning its hopes on a star athlete to bring home an Olympic medal.

Arshad Nadeem, 27, is Pakistan’s sole hope of winning an Olympic medal. Nadeem is set to play the Olympics javelin final Thursday night. If he wins a medal, he’ll be giving the country its first Olympic prize in 32 years.

Pakistan’s national hockey team secured a bronze medal by defeating the Netherlands 4-3 at the Barcelona Olympics on this day in 1992. The team was down 2-0 when Shahbaz Ahmed (1), Khalid Bashir (2), and Qamar Ibrahim (1) helped Pakistan take the tally to 4-3.

Pakistan has since failed to win a single Olympic medal despite having participated in Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo Olympics.

Nadeem kept Pakistan’s hopes alive for an Olympic medal after cruising into Thursday’s final by nailing a 86.59m throw, a season best, on Tuesday.

The Olympian is currently ranked number four as he heads into the Paris Olympics javelin final. Reigning Olympic and world champion India’s Neeraj Chopra lead the field with a massive 89.34m throw, also a season best.