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Pakistan at the Olympics

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Pakistan at the
Olympics
IOC codePAK
NOCPakistan Olympic Association
Websitenocpakistan.org
Medals
Ranked 78th
Gold
4
Silver
3
Bronze
4
Total
11
Summer appearances
Winter appearances

The Pakistan Olympic Association was created in 1948, while the Pakistan Sports Board was established in 1962.

Pakistan first participated in the Olympic Games in 1948 in London, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union. It has participated in every Winter Olympic Games since the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, when alpine skier Mohammad Abbas became the first Pakistani athlete to qualify for a Winter Olympics event.

Pakistani athletes have won a total of 11 medals, all in the Summer Olympics, including 4 gold medals. Pakistan's men's field hockey team won eight medals in the nine games it participated in between 1956 and 1992. This included a run of 5 consecutive finals between 1956 and 1972, where the Hockey team won 2 gold and 3 silver medals in quick succession.

Arshad Nadeem is the only Pakistani athlete to have won an individual Olympic gold medal and create an Olympic record.[1]

History

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Before independence (pre–1947)

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In the Olympic Games up until 1936, athletes from modern-day Pakistan participated as part of the team from British India. Several gold medalists for India in field hockey were born in what became Pakistan, including Muhammad Aslam (1932), Lal Shah Bokhari (1932), Sayed Jaffar (1932 and 1936), Ali Dara (1936) and Peter Paul Fernandes (1936). Bokhari was also selected as India's flagbearer in the 1932 opening ceremony. All of these men opted to play for Pakistan post independence in 1947. Others made the switch after the 1948 Olympics, such as Latif-ur Rehman and Akhtar Hussain.[2][3]

Early years (1948 – 1952)

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Pakistan first participated in the 1948 Summer Olympics and sent a contingent of 39 athletes that took part across seven different sports. The stand out performers were the men's hockey team who topped their group by beating Belgium, Denmark, France and Netherlands but lost their semi-final match to Great Britain 0–2. Pakistan then faced the Netherlands during the bronze medal match. Initially Pakistan drew with the Netherlands 1–1, but during the replay lost 1–4 and had to settle for a 4th placed finish.[4]

During the 1952 Summer Olympics, there was much of the same result, with the hockey team reaching the semis where they lost to Netherlands 0–1 and then went on to lose the bronze medal match to Great Britain 1–2. Yet again finishing at the 4th place. Other highlights during the games included the Men's 4 x 100 metres relay team which also reached the semi-finals.[5]

Men's Hockey Team's Golden Era (1956 – 1984)

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1956 Melbourne: Hockey team wins Silver medal

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Pakistan men's hockey team's 'Golden Era' began during 1956, when they cruised through to the finals by beating Great Britain 3–2 in the semi-final, to set up a clash with arch-rivals India. Pakistan lost the final to India 0–1, but in doing so, secured their first ever Olympic medal, a silver medal. Elsewhere Abdul Khaliq reached the semi-finals of both the Men's 100 metres and Men's 200 metres. As did Ghulam Raziq who reached the semi-final of the Men's 110 metres hurdles and Pakistan also reached the semi-finals of the Men's 4 x 100 metres relay.[6]

1960 Rome: Hockey team wins Gold, Muhammad Bashir wins Bronze

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Medal ceremony for the gold medalist Pakistan hockey team at the 1960 Olympic games in Rome

During the 1960 Summer Olympics, the hockey team topped their group by comprehensively beating Australia 3–0, Poland 8–0 and Japan 10–0. They then beat Germany 2–1 in the quarter-finals and Spain 1–0 in the semi-final to set up another showdown with India. This time Pakistan came out as the successors and beat India 1–0 in the final to clinch their first ever Olympic gold medal and in the process halted India's run of 6 consecutive gold medals.[7]

In the Men's freestyle welterweight wrestling, Muhammad Bashir made history by reaching the last round and finished 3rd out of 23 wrestlers, to win Pakistan its first ever individual medal and first ever non-Hockey Olympic medal.[7]

1964 Tokyo: Hockey team wins a Silver medal

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At the 1964 Summer Olympics the Hockey team continued their good form from the previous Olympics and marched into the semi-finals where they decisively beat Spain 3–0. However, the Hockey team then came undone against India in the final and couldn't replicate the success of four years ago, so they had to settle for a silver medal after losing to India 0–1.[8]

1968 Mexico City: Hockey team wins Gold yet again

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During the 1968 Summer Olympics, Pakistan chose to reduce their contingent to only 20 players and focussed only on the sports of Men's Field Hockey and Men's wrestling, as those were the sports where Pakistan had previously achieved success. The Hockey team remained undefeated throughout the group stage to reach the semi-final where they beat Germany 1–0 after extra time, before beating Australia 2–1 in the final to win the gold medal for a second time.[9]

1972 Munich: Hockey team settles for a Silver medal

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At the 1972 Summer Olympics, Pakistan's hockey team played fairly well to reach the semis where they beat India 2–0 before facing West Germany in the finals. The final was marked with controversy with Pakistan being unhappy with the umpiring throughout the match. Pakistan protested against a goal being disallowed, along with a controversial decision to award West Germany a penalty corner through which they scored the only goal of the match and went on to win the gold medal. All eleven Pakistani players who played in the final were later suspended for disorderly and unsporting behaviour during the medal ceremony. The Pakistan Hockey Federation was suspended for 4 years, while the manager of the hockey team and the players involved in the incidents after the final were handed life-time bans. The bans and suspensions were only revoked in 1974, when the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, personally apologised for the incidents.[10]

1976 Montreal: Hockey team has to settle for a Bronze medal, introduction of AstroTurfs

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For the first time since 1952, Pakistan's hockey team failed to reach the Olympic final at the 1976 Summer Olympics. The team topped their group but lost to Australia 1–2 in the semi-final and only won the bronze medal after defeating the Netherlands 3–2 in the bronze medal match. This was also the first time that field Hockey matches during the Olympics were played on AstroTurf surfaces.[11]

1984 Los Angeles: Hockey team is back to winnings ways, wins a Gold medal

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After boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan returned to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and picked up from where they had left off. The hockey team ranked 2nd in their group behind Great Britain and made it to the semi-finals where they beat Australia 1–0, before beating West Germany 2–1, to clinch their 3rd Olympic title.[12]

3rd place finishes for Hussain Shah and Men's Hockey team (1988 – 1992)

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1988 Seoul: Hussain Shah wins Bronze in Boxing

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The hockey team had its worst performance yet at the 1988 Summer Olympics as they failed to qualify for the semi-finals and finished fifth after beating India 2–1. However, Hussain Shah saved the country from embarrassment.[13]

Hussain Shah received a bye in the round of 64, before cruising through the rounds to reach the semi-final, guaranteeing himself a bronze medal. He lost the semi-final to Egerton Marcus, but ended up as joint 3rd place to win Pakistan its first ever individual medal in boxing and only the second ever individual medal after the bronze medal won by Muhammad Bashir in 1960.[14]

1992 Barcelona: Hockey team wins Bronze medal

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After the debacle in Seoul 1988, the hockey team went about business as usual and topped their group by remaining unbeaten in the 1992 Summer Olympics. They did lose the semi-final to Germany 1–2, but came from behind in the bronze medal match to beat the Netherlands 4–3 and won the bronze medal.[15]

Decline (1996 – 2016)

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The national team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The decline in Olympics for Pakistan coincides with the decline in the fortunes of their hockey team.[16][17] The hockey team failed to win an Olympic medal during this time period. With the only highlight being when the hockey team reached the semi-finals during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, but lost to South Korea 0–1 and then lost the bronze medal match to Australia 3–6.[18] It all culminated with 2016 being the worst ever games for Pakistan, as the Hockey team failed to qualify,[19] and none of Pakistan's athletes managed to make it out of their preliminary rounds.[20]

Resurgence (2020 – Present day)

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Tokyo 2020: Arshad Nadeem reaches Javelin throw Final

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10 athletes represented Pakistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[21] Resurgence from Pakistan began on the back of performances from Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib. Arshad Nadeem made history by becoming the first Pakistani athlete to qualify for the Olympics directly and then qualifying for the final with a throw of 85.16m where he topped his group and was 3rd amongst the qualifiers. But he failed to replicate that performance in the final and mentioned the nerves of the occasion getting to him. He ended up on 5th place with a throw of 84.62m in the Final.[22][23] Talha Talib during his Men's 67kg weighlifitng event, lifted 150kg during the snatch round, which placed him in 2nd place. But lifted 170kg during the clean and jerk round, which placed him 7th in the round, and 5th overall. He missed out on a bronze medal by just 2kgs.[24][25]

Paris 2024: Arshad Nadeem wins Gold medal, creates Olympic record

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Arshad Nadeem, javelin thrower and Pakistan's first Olympic Gold medallist in athletics.

Pakistan sent a contingent of 7 athletes to participate at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[26] Arshad Nadeem made history for Pakistan by becoming the first ever Pakistani to win an individual Olympic gold medal with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m. Arshad also threw another 90m+ throw, with his last throw being 91.79m, which was also longer than the Olympic record of 90.57m set in Beijing 2008. Arshad's gold medal was the first gold medal won by Pakistan since 1984, the first Olympic medal won since 1992, and his throw of 92.97m was also the 6th longest throw in history, when considering only the best throw from each athlete.[27][28][29][1]

Medal tables

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See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table
  Peach colour indicates best performance

Summer Olympics

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Games Athletes Athletes by sport Medals Total Rank Ref.
Athletics Badminton Boxing Cycling Field Hockey Judo Sailing Shooting Swimming Table tennis Weightlifting Wrestling
1900–1936 as part of  India
1948 London 39 5 - 3 2 19 - - - 4 - 2 4 - - - 0 – [4]
1952 Helsinki 44 16 - 4 2 18 - - 1 2 - 1 1 - - - 0 – [5]
1956 Melbourne 62 19 - 6 4 18 - - 2 3 - 3 6 - 1 - 1 31 [6]
1960 Rome 49 12 - 4 2 18 - - 4 - - 2 7 1 - 1 2 20 [7]
1964 Tokyo 41 6 - 4 4 18 - - 5 - - 1 6 - 1 - 1 30 [8]
1968 Mexico City 20 - - - - 18 - - - - - - 2 1 - - 1 29 [9]
1972 Munich 25 5 - 2 - 18 - - - - - 1 2 - 1 - 1 33 [10]
1976 Montreal 24 2 - 2 - 16 - - - - - 2 2 - - 1 1 37 [11]
1980 Moscow did not participate
1984 Los Angeles 29 3 - 4 - 16 - 6 - - - - 2 1 - - 1 25 [12]
1988 Seoul 31 7 - 2 - 16 - 2 - - 1 - 3 - - 1 1 46 [14]
1992 Barcelona 27 4 - 4 - 16 - 2 - - - - 1 - - 1 1 54 [15]
1996 Atlanta 24 2 - 4 - 16 - - - 1 - - 1 - - - 0 – [16]
2000 Sydney 27 2 - 4 - 16 - 3 1 1 - - - - - - 0 – [18]
2004 Athens 26 2 - 5 - 16 - - 1 2 - - - - - - 0 – [17]
2008 Beijing 21 2 - - - 16 - - 1 2 - - - - - - 0 –
2012 London 21 2 - - - 16 - - 1 2 - - - - - - 0 –
2016 Rio de Janeiro 7 2 - - - - 1 - 2 2 - - - - - - 0 – [19][20]
2020 Tokyo 10 2 1 - - - 1 - 3 2 - 1 - - - - 0 – [21]
2024 Paris 7 2 - - - - - - 3 2 - - - 1 - - 1 62 [26]
2028 Los Angeles future event
2032 Brisbane
Total 4 3 4 11 78

Winter Olympics

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Games Athletes Athletes by sport Medals Total Rank Ref.
Alpine skiing Cross country skiing
1924–2006 did not participate
2010 Vancouver 1 1 - - - - 0 –
2014 Sochi 1 1 - - - - 0 –
2018 Pyeongchang 2 1 1 - - - 0 – [30]
2022 Beijing 1 1 - - - - 0 –
2026 Milano Cortina future event
Total 0 0 0 0 –

Medals by sport

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Medals by sport
Sport Gold Gold Silver Silver Bronze Bronze Total Rank
 Field hockey 3 3 2 8 6
 Athletics 1 0 0 1 74
 Boxing 0 0 1 1 74
 Wrestling 0 0 1 1 65
Total 4 3 4 11 78

List of medalists

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Here is the complete list of Pakistani medalists at the Olympics over the years.[31]

Medal Medalist Games Sport Event Date
Silver Silver
Australia 1956 Melbourne Field Hockey Field hockey Men's tournament 6 December 1956
Gold Gold
Italy 1960 Rome Field Hockey Field hockey Men's tournament 9 September 1960
Bronze Bronze Muhammad Bashir Wrestling Wrestling Men's freestyle welterweight 6 September 1960
Silver Silver
Japan 1964 Tokyo Field Hockey Field hockey Men's tournament 23 October 1964
Gold Gold
Mexico 1968 Mexico City Field Hockey Field hockey Men's tournament 26 October 1968
Silver Silver
Germany 1972 Munich Field Hockey Field hockey Men's tournament 10 September 1972
Bronze Bronze
Canada 1976 Montreal Field Hockey Field hockey Men's tournament 30 July 1976
Gold Gold
United States 1984 Los Angeles Field Hockey Field hockey Men's tournament 11 August 1984
Bronze Bronze Hussain Shah South Korea 1988 Seoul Boxing Boxing Men's middleweight 27 September 1988
Bronze Bronze
Spain 1992 Barcelona Field Hockey Field hockey Men's tournament 8 August 1992
Gold Gold Arshad Nadeem France 2024 Paris Athletics Athletics Men's javelin throw 8 August 2024

Men's Field Hockey team at the Summer Olympics

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Team United Kingdom
1948 		Finland
1952 		Australia
1956 		Italy
1960 		Japan
1964 		Mexico
1968 		West Germany
1972 		Canada
1976 		Soviet Union
1980 		United States
1984 		South Korea
1988 		Spain
1992 		United States
1996 		Australia
2000 		Greece
2004 		China
2008 		United Kingdom
2012 		Brazil
2016 		Japan
2020 		France
2024 		United States
2028 		Australia
2032 		Total
 Pakistan 4th 4th 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 3rd DNP 1st 5th 3rd 6th 4th 5th 8th 7th DNQ TBD 16

TBD (to be determined), DNQ (did not qualify), DNP (did not participate)

Milestones

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Firsts

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Multiple Medalists

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Athlete Sport Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
Manzoor Hussain Atif  Field hockey 1952–64 1 2 0 3
Munir Dar  Field hockey 1956–64 1 2 0 3
Anwar Khan  Field hockey 1956–64 1 2 0 3
Motiullah  Field hockey 1956–64 1 2 0 3
Saeed Anwar  Field hockey 1964–72 1 2 0 3
Muhammad Asad Malik  Field hockey 1964–72 1 2 0 3
Abdul Rashid  Field hockey 1968–76 1 1 1 3
Abdul Hamid  Field hockey 1948–60 1 1 0 2
Habib Ali Kiddie  Field hockey 1952–60 1 1 0 2
Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool  Field hockey 1956–60 1 1 0 2
Noor Alam  Field hockey 1956–60 1 1 0 2
Naseer Bunda  Field hockey 1956–60 1 1 0 2
Zakir Hussain  Field hockey 1956–68 1 1 0 2
Khwaja Zakauddin  Field hockey 1960–64 1 1 0 2
Khalid Mahmood  Field hockey 1964–68 1 1 0 2
Tariq Aziz  Field hockey 1964–68 1 1 0 2
Tariq Niazi  Field hockey 1964–68 1 1 0 2
Jahangir Butt  Field hockey 1968–72 1 1 0 2
Riaz Ahmed  Field hockey 1968–72 1 1 0 2
Manzoor Hussain  Field hockey 1976–84 1 0 1 2
Hanif Khan  Field hockey 1976–84 1 0 1 2
Shahid Ali Khan  Field hockey 1984–92 1 0 1 2
Saleem Sherwani  Field hockey 1972–76 0 1 1 2
Munawwar uz Zaman  Field hockey 1972–76 0 1 1 2
Akhtar Rasool  Field hockey 1972–76 0 1 1 2
Mudassar Asghar  Field hockey 1972–76 0 1 1 2
Islahuddin Siddique  Field hockey 1972–76 0 1 1 2
Shahnaz Sheikh  Field hockey 1972–76 0 1 1 2
Iftikhar Ahmed Syed  Field hockey 1972–76 0 1 1 2

Finals reached by Pakistanis in Individual events

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Athlete(s) Event Games Result
Muhammad Iqbal Men's hammer throw 1956 Melbourne 11th place (56.97m)
Muhammad Iqbal Men's hammer throw 1960 Rome 12th place (61.79m)
Muhammad Bashir Men's freestyle welterweight 1960 Rome 3rd place 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Talha Talib Weightlifting – Men's 67 kg 2020 Tokyo 5th place (320 kg)
Arshad Nadeem Men's javelin throw 2020 Tokyo 5th place (84.62m)
Arshad Nadeem Men's javelin throw 2024 Paris 1st place 1st place, gold medalist(s) (92.97m) OR

Best Performances in Athletics - track events

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Athlete(s) Event Games Result
Muhammad Aslam,
Abdul Aziz,
Muhammad Shariff Butt,
Muhammad Fazil 		Men's 4 x 100 metres relay 1952 Helsinki Semi-Final
Abdul Khaliq Men's 100 metres 1956 Melbourne 4th in Semi-Final heat
Abdul Khaliq Men's 200 metres 1956 Melbourne 4th in Semi-Final heat – Stands in top seven athletes
Ghulam Raziq Men's 110 metres hurdles 1956 Melbourne Semi-Final
Abdul Aziz,
Muhammad Sharif Butt,
Abdul Khaliq,
Ghulam Raziq 		Men's 4 x 100 metres relay 1956 Melbourne Semi-Final
Ghulam Raziq Men's 110 metres hurdles 1960 Rome 4th in Semi-Final heat
Abdul Malik,
Muhammad Ramzan Ali,
Ghulam Raziq,
Abdul Khaliq 		Men's 4 x 100 metres relay 1960 Rome Semi-Final
Bashir Ahmed, Mohammad Sadaqat, Mohammad Afzal, Muhammad Fayyaz Men's 4 × 400 metres relay 1988 Seoul Semi-Final

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Arshad Nadeem throws his way into history for Pakistan with javelin gold". The Guardian. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Pakistan's Olympic medals: Hockey team's domination is clear".
  3. ^ "How Fate And Partition Made Ali Dara Represent Two Countries In Back To Back Olympics".
  4. ^ a b "Hockey brings some cheer as Pakistan appear in their first Olympiad". Jang.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  5. ^ a b "A hockey medal eludes Pakistan again as they finish fourth". Jang.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  6. ^ a b "Pakistan finally take an Olympic Games medal while Khaliq burns the track". Jang.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  7. ^ a b c "Pakistan hockey strikes gold as wrestler Bashir picks up a bronze medal". Jang.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  8. ^ a b "Pakistan slip a notch at Tokyo and settle for the hockey silver medal". Jang.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  9. ^ a b "Pakistan back on top of the world with a hockey gold at Mexico". Jang.com.pk. 1991-08-30. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  10. ^ a b "Conduct unbecoming". Jang.com.pk. 1966-04-26. Archived from the original on 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  11. ^ a b "Pakistan hockey's bronze medal win considered a 'debacle' back home". Jang.com.pk. 1977-10-14. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  12. ^ a b "Hasan Sardar weaves his way through to bring Pakistan hockey gold". Jang.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  13. ^ "1988 Summer Olympics, Middleweight (≤75 kilograms), Men". www.olympedia.org/. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  14. ^ a b "Pakistan hockey sinks to new depths but boxer Hussain Shah prompts a few smiles". Jang.com.pk. 1981-09-30. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  15. ^ a b "Shahbaz Ahmed's hockey team wins Pakistan its last Olympic Games medal". Jang.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  16. ^ a b "Chaos and turmoil at home and Pakistan hockey has its worst Olympics ever". Jang.com.pk. 1990-09-18. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  17. ^ a b "Pakistan fail to win any medals at three successive Olympiads". Jang.com.pk. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  18. ^ a b "Hockey team rises to fourth but Pakistan return empty-handed again". Jang.com.pk. 1993-09-23. Archived from the original on 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  19. ^ a b "The Pakistan Olympic Team at Rio 2016 – DESIblitz". 28 July 2016.
  20. ^ a b "Pakistan's Olympics delegation to return home empty-handed". Geo News. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  21. ^ a b "Pakistan athletes aim to excel at Tokyo Games". 20 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Arshad Nadeem misses out on medal but wins nation over". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  23. ^ "Pakistan hails Arshad Nadeem for 'unreal' effort at Tokyo Olympics". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  24. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Talha narrowly misses out winning medal for Pakistan | SAMAA". Samaa TV. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  25. ^ Dawn.com (2021-07-25). "'Still proud of you': Weightlifter Talha Talib misses out on Olympic gold but a hero is born". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  26. ^ a b "Seven athletes, 11 officials in Pakistan's Olympic contingent". DAWN. 14 July 2024.
  27. ^ "Javelin Throw men - All time Top list". Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  28. ^ "Arshad Nadeem creates new Olympic record with 92.97 meter throw in javelin throw final". CNBC TV18. 8 August 2024. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  29. ^ "Men's Javelin Throw - Final results" (PDF). Paris 2024. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  30. ^ "Remote Pakistan Village Produces 2 Olympic Hopefuls". VOA. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  31. ^ "Pakistan's Olympic medals: Hockey team's domination is clear".
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