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Pakistan has a brand new hero. During this year\u2019s Olympic Games in Paris<\/a>, Arshad Nadeem, a 27-year-old from Pakistan, defeated India\u2019s defending champion, Neeraj Chopra, in the javelin throw. Not only that, Nadeem set a new Olympic record, throwing the javelin 92.97 meters (or 305 feet), becoming the first Pakistani to earn an individual gold medal.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first time the South Asian country has earned a medal since 1992<\/a>, when its field hockey team notched a bronze. It\u2019s the first gold medal since 1984\u2014also earned by the country\u2019s field hockey team. It was a hard-won victory for Nadeem who grew up one of eight children in a mud brick house in rural Punjab. He got his start in javelin by using \u201clong eucalyptus branches with iron tips on their ends,\u201d his brother told Reuters<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Upon Nadeem\u2019s momentous return home, he was quickly f\u00eated<\/a> with garlands, thousands of fans and a parade in the streets of Karachi in his honor. He also quickly became richer: He received a $50,000 prize from the Olympic Association, $350,000 and a Honda<\/a> Civic from Mariam Nawaz, the chief minister of his home province, and just over $500,000 from Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister<\/a>, Shehbaz Sharif.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the most unconventional gift he received, per NPR<\/em><\/a>: A buffalo.<\/p>\n Nadeem received the buffalo from his father-in-law, NPR\u2019s Benazir Samad reported Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn rural communities, a buffalo is considered one of the most honorable and valuable gifts, much like camels in desert regions like Saudi Arabia,\u201d Rashad Bukhari, a writer from Punjab, told Samad.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a lucrative moneymaker, because buffalo milk\u2014and ghee, its byproduct\u2014is a common delicacy in the region. Pakistan is the world\u2019s fifth-largest milk producer<\/a> and is home to over 26 million buffaloes. Among all the nation\u2019s milk-producing animals (including sheep, cattle, and goats), buffaloes have the market cornered; they account for three-quarters of all milk production.\u00a0<\/p>\n The father-in-law in question, Muhammad Nawaz, defended his choice, per the Times of India<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>explaining that the buffalo gift is very \u201chonorable\u201d and \u201cvaluable\u201d in their community. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Appearing on a Pakistani television program<\/a> last week with his wife, Nadeem joked<\/a> that he\u2019d wished his father-in-law had instead gifted him a few acres of land. \u201cBut then I said \u2018okay, fine, he gave me a buffalo, that is also nice,\u201d Nadeem said, per a translation by <\/em>India Today<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong> CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n