At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Nadeem qualified for the second time as a member of the Pakistani squad in the men's field hockey after receiving a wild card invitation from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Madrid, Spain. Narrowly missing out a slot for the semifinals by two points, Nadeem helped the Pakistanis scored a goal of 4–2 to defeat the notorious New Zealand team in the fifth place classification match. Serving as the team captain in field hockey, Nadeem was also appointed by the Pakistan Olympic Association to carry the Pakistani flag in the opening ceremony.