Punjab announces cash reward for Olympians Arshad Nadeem, Talha Talib

• Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimur announces cash rewards for Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib. 
• Chief Minister Usman Buzdar will present the cash to the athletes. 
• The Punjab government is also supporting Haider Ali and Anila Baig for participating in the Paralympics, says the minister. 

LAHORE: The Punjab government Tuesday announced cash rewards worth one million rupees each for javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, weightlifter Talha Talib and mountaineer Shehroz Kashmir as their recent stellar performances have put Pakistan on the map.

Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimur Khan Bhatti announced this while addressing a press conference. He said Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar will hand the cash prizes to all the three athletes.

"Arshad Nadeem is the first Pakistani track and field athlete who directly qualified [for Olympics]," said Rai Taimur Khan Bhatti, and added, "Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib both made Pakistan famous."

The sports minister said he will go to the airport to receive Arshad Nadeem. 

Olympians Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib will be presented with Rs1 million each, he said, adding Arshad Nadeem's coach Fayyaz Bukhari will also be given a Rs 0.5 million reward.

The Punjab government is also supporting Haider Ali and Anila Baig, who qualified for the Paralympics, Rai Taimur Bhatti said. The provincial government will bear all the expenses of both the Paralympic athletes, he added.

Arshad Nadeem is the first-ever Pakistani athlete to qualify for the final of any track and field event in the Olympics. He finished fifth in the final competition of javelin throw in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.

Nadeem's ranking soared to fourth on the points table at one point in the competition but he was soon surpassed by rival athletes. During the final round, Nadeem made 82.91m on his opening attempt and threw 81.98m on the second. But his final throw was declared a foul to land him in the fifth position.

Lifter Talha Talib had also earned accolades from all quarters, competing in the 67kg men's weightlifting contest in the Tokyo Olympics. 

He received a hero's welcome at the airport after arriving back in the country.

Talha was on top for a while before being surpassed by athletes from China, Colombia, and Italy in the final attempts. After lifting 150kg in the snatch lift, Talha fell while attempting 166kg in the first attempt at the clean and jerk move. He lifted 170kg in his final attempt to have an overall lift of 320kg.