Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem won the Olympic men's javelin title in Paris on Thursday, his country's first individual gold at a Summer Games.
Nadeem threw an Olympic record of 92.97 metres for victory, India's defending champion Neeraj Chopra taking silver with 89.45. Grenada's Anderson Peters claimed bronze with 88.54m.
"When I threw the javelin, I got the feel of it leaving my hand and sensed it could be an Olympic record," said the 27-year-old Nadeem.
Nadeem, the 2022 Commonwealth champion who was fifth at the Tokyo Olympics and a silver medallist at last year's Budapest world championships, said the result was "very important for Pakistan because I have worked very hard over the years for this".
"My training and hard work have paid off."
The rivalry with Chopra "is there, no doubt", he added.
"Like cricket, the javelin rivalry was present! People back home in Pakistan and India were eager to see us compete together.
"Rivalry is there when it comes to cricket matches, other sports, the two countries have a rivalry, but it's a good thing for the young people in both countries to watch our sport and follow us.
"It's a positive thing for both countries."
Chopra agreed, saying it was good for both countries, and could act as a spur to attract more people to athletics, and javelin in particular.
Nadeem said he had big ambitions for throwing even further.
"I was expecting to go even further and I am hoping to go even further," he said after his new Olympic record beat his previous best by more than two metres.
"I will try harder to even extend my personal best to over 95 metres."
