Arshad Nadeem may not have had all the facilities in his preparations for the Paris Olympics and was largely left on his own to overcome the hardships, but Pakistan left no stone unturned in recognising his marvellous achievement at the Games. The gold medallist was given a hero's welcome on his return to Lahore.

Nadeem wasn't the overwhelming favourite for the title in the men's javelin throw where all eyes were on Neeraj Chopra, who had won the gold in the Tokyo Olympics three years back. But amid a quiet night from the Indian athlete, who struggled with injury concerns, Nadeem hurled a sensational 92.97m on his second attempt to assure himself the elusive gold medal. Not only did the throw see him break the Olympic record of 90.57m, owned by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway in the 2008 Beijing Games, but with the top-of-the-podium finish in Paris, Nadeem became Pakistan's first-ever individual gold medallist at an Olympics. It was also the nation's first medal at the Olympics since 1992 in Barcelona.

On Sunday, he arrived at the Lahore airport to a water canon salute, before thousands of supporters greeted him with loud chants. He then met his family, including his father, who placed a garland around his neck to thousands chanting, "Long Live Arshad Nadeem! Long Live Pakistan!" Nadeem then got in to an open bus for a victory parade at the capital city. According to reports, around 150 officers and personnel ensured his security on his arrival and through the parade, with an elite convoy escorting him throughout the route.

Pakistan, struggling with an economic crisis and rising militancy, see Nadeem's triumph as all the more impressive because the athlete was born and raised in a mud-brick house in an impoverished corner of rural Punjab. As a young man, he trained in wheat fields with homemade javelins.

Earlier, various provincial governments and organisations announced cash rewards following his historic achievement. Later, President Asif Ali Zardari announced that Nadeem would be awarded Pakistan’s second-highest civilian award, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, for his achievement.

"I am thankful to God almighty. I thank my parents and Pakistani nation," Nadeem told the crowds. "There is lot of hard work by me and my coach Salman Butt behind this."