President Asif Ali Zardari conferred javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, who broke the Olympic record and earned Pakistan’s first individual gold medalist, with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz at a special ceremony on Thursday.

It is one of the highest civilian honours in Pakistan.

The 27-year-old athlete from a village near Mian Channu brought home the country’s sole gold in the Olympic 2024 Games. He shattered the javelin throw Olympic record with a stunning throw of 92.97 metres.

It is a major feat not just for Nadeem, but for the South Asian nation which won their last Olympic medal 32 years ago.

Before Nadeem’s remarkable victory, Pakistan had never won an individual gold medal at the Olympics.

All of Pakistan’s previous three gold medals came in field hockey, with their team winning gold in 1960, 1968 and 1984.

He received a rousing welcome upon landing at the Lahore airport in the wee hours of Sunday. His flight was given a water cannon salute upon its arrival.

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On the eve of Independence Day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a state banquet for Nadeem where he announced a reward of Rs150 million from the federal government for the Olympian, naming a street between the F9 and F10 after him, and establishing an Arshad Nadeem High Performance Academy at Jinnah Sports Stadium.

Nadeem had said his next target is breaking the world record. “I will train fully for all upcoming competitions and my next goal is … I will make the world record,” he said while addressing a state banquet held in his honour in Islamabad.