Arshad Nadeem’s Olympic Gold Overshadowed by Media Bias: A Call for Fair Coverage

Pakistanis rejoiced as Arshad Nadeem made history with his gold medal in the javelin throw at the 2024 Paris Olympics, setting a new Olympic record of 92.97m. With this, our 32-year dry spell is broken, and Pakistan has made it to number 53 on the medal count board. India’s Neeraj Chopra earned silver with a throw of 89.45m – a feat which according to the Olympics media team, outshines Arshad Nadeem’s incredible achievement.

A search for “Arshad Nadeem” on the official Paris Olympics website in the news section yields surprising results. Even when arranged by “latest”, one needs to scroll past older news centered around Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem’s knee surgery, in order to read about the final in a strangely titled article. “Neeraj Chopra wins silver medal at Paris 2024 Olympics javelin throw; Arshad Nadeem breaks record for gold – as it happened” by Anjishu Roy features a picture of Neeraj Chopra – solely.

The Olympics’ official YouTube channel is no better, as searching for Asrhad Nadeem, by name, fails to yield videos giving the olympic-record holder much due spotlight. The first video of the finals has a thumbnail featuring Chopra, and a title much similar to the article, deeming Chopra’s silver worthy of being mentioned before Nadeem’s Olympic record. Another video, omitting Arshad’s first name but remembering Chopra’s in the title – “Neeraj Chopra 🇮🇳 wins silver, Nadeem 🇵🇰 clinches gold in Men’s Javelin Throw,” – features all three medalists on the thumbnail, with text exclusively mentioning Chopra’s silver. Both videos give Nadeem barely half a minute of screen time, while Chopra dominates for over a minute and a half. The second video even includes a post-event interview with Chopra, where he reflects on his performance and congratulates Nadeem. Notably, there is no interview with Nadeem, the gold-medallist.

Perhaps this is a by-product of the classic French Islamophobia which led to the hijab ban being extended to an international event like the Olympics, which should have been grounded in hospitality and diplomacy.

The bias is blatant. The journalistic choices made by the Olympic media team are indefensible . A search for “Arshad Nadeem” doesn’t even bring up his image first—his name is preceded by the very competitor he outperformed. Nadeem’s face appears in only two videos: one where he shares the podium with other medalists, and another older interview from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where his comments on Chopra’s absence take center stage. The search results are crowded with videos on Indian athletes, including one on the javelin semifinals that prominently features Chopra with a title exclaiming, “Neeraj stuns with one man’s javelin throw.”

It begs the question: was setting an Olympic record not stunning enough? Did a world record-holder not merit more screen time? Is Chopra’s status as reigning champion truly more newsworthy than Nadeem’s world-breaking feat? Olympics, what more must one do to earn the spotlight?

The quiet but obvious dismissal of Arshad’s achievements is surprising, to say the least. One might chalk it up to racism, a charge frequently brought up against the Paris Olympics. However, both Nadeem and chopra are South Asian. The difference? Nadeem is not an English speaker, while Chopra is. Still, subtitles are not a challenge to produce. Perhaps this is a by-product of the classic French islamophobia which led to the hijab ban being extended to an international event like the Olympics, which should have been grounded in hospitality and diplomacy.

While it’s reasonable to spotlight Chopra as a silver medalist and defending champion, it is puzzling—if not outright foolish—to overshadow Nadeem’s world-record-breaking performance. Another reason could be that Neeraj likely had a bigger fanbase and hence content featuring him could result in better viewership. Regardless, this calculated neglect of Nadeem’s achievement seems anything but accidental.

While the biased coverage by the Olympics YouTube channel is disappointing, it hasn’t diminished the pride and joy felt across Pakistan. Nadeem’s historic win is a testament to his extraordinary talent and perseverance—qualities that deserve global recognition without reservation. We owe it to Arshad Nadeem to demand fair representation for all athletes, regardless of their ethnicity or fame. Every athlete is inspiring, and those who achieve feats like an Olympic record deserve to be celebrated and heard.

Whether this bizarre coverage stems from biased content creators, considerations of viewership, or an Islamophobic agenda by this year’s host country, we must recognize our power as the audience. It is our responsibility to challenge this underrepresentation on social media platforms, hold the Paris Olympics accountable, and demand more equitable coverage. This issue must be brought to light, rallying both the Pakistani government and the people to stand united behind our champion!