Pakistan’s Olympic javelin gold medallist, Arshad Nadeem, carried the trophy to the centre ahead of the second semifinal between South Africa and New Zealand in Lahore on Wednesday.
Arshad made history as Pakistan’s first individual Olympic gold medallist and the country’s first athletics medallist at the Summer Games. The 6’3” javelin thrower dominated the Paris 2024 final, setting an Olympic and Asian record of 92.97m — 3.52m clear of defending champion Neeraj Chopra, who took silver with 89.45m.
The 50-over Champions Trophy is the first time Pakistan has hosted a global event since 1996.
However, Dubai has been chosen as a neutral venue for India to play its matches. Political tensions mean India and Pakistan have not faced each other outside of men’s major tournaments since 2013, while India has not played in Pakistan since 2008.
With India qualifying for the final, Dubai will host the summit clash.