Danish Kaneria reveals Arshad Nadeem unable to afford air tickets, criticizes Shehbaz Sharif's prize money as insulting to Pakistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to social media to share an old photo in admiration of Arshad Nadeem, the newly-crowned javelin champion at the Paris Olympics 2024. Nadeem made history by surpassing India's Golden Boy Neeraj Chopra and clinching the gold medal with a record-breaking throw in the men's javelin final at the Stade de France on Friday. Sharif congratulated Nadeem for bringing home the gold for Pakistan at the Olympics.

While Nadeem scaled new heights, Sharif used an old photo of handing the javelin star a cheque of 10 lakh to appreciate the once-in-a-lifetime performance of Arshad. Taking cognisance of the post, former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria called out Sharif and urged him to delete the photo. Launching into a tirade against Sharif, the tainted cricketer asserted that Olympic champion Arshad could struggle to buy air tickets with the prize money.

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'This amount is so small he can’t even…'

“Mr. Prime Minister, at least offer a graceful congratulations. Delete the picture of the million rupees you gave—it does nothing for his real needs. This amount is so small he can’t even afford air tickets. It’s an insult to both Arshad and the nation, considering his ongoing struggles,” Kaneria mentioned.

Nadeem gets 10 crore prize money from Pakistan government

Maryam Nawaz, who is the Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, has announced a 10 crore (PKR) cash prize for Nadeem. He also vowed to name a sports city after Arshad in his hometown of Khanewal. Nadeem, the 2022 Commonwealth champion, was fifth in the Tokyo Olympics. The Pakistani javelin thrower claimed a silver medal at the Budapest World Championships. Shattering the Olympic record in Paris, Nadeem fired a massive throw of 92.97 metres to win gold for Pakistan. Defending champion Neeraj finished second with 89.45, while Grenada's Anderson Peters claimed bronze with 88.54m.

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