Published on: Sept 21, 2025 06:02 am IST
Sachin Yadav outperformed Neeraj Chopra in the men’s javelin throw final at the World C’ships, finishing in fourth place. Meanwhile, Neeraj came eighth.
India has found a new javelin throw hero in Sachin Yadav after the 25-year-old came fourth at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday. He outperformed Neeraj Chopra, who also failed to defend his title in the men’s javelin throw final. The Tokyo 2020 gold medallist came eighth and was eliminated in the penultimate round.
Sachin registered a personal best in his first attempt, throwing 86.27m, and was even in the top three for a short period of time. Since his heroics on Thursday, he is also now being compared to Arshad Nadeem, who is the reigning Olympic champion and also the Olympic record holder. It is also being predicted that he could reach 95m in the future.
Uwe Hohn predicts big things for Sachin Yadav
Speaking to The Indian Express, Neeraj’s former coach Uwe Hohn, who is the only athlete to have sent the javelin over 100m, hailed Sachin for his effort. Hohn also had a similar prediction, stating that Sachin can register 95m-plus throws.
“He’s definitely a 90 metre-plus thrower and if in the right hands, a 95 metre-plus thrower because he has so many things (technique-wise) to change and that (the changes) can help him produce enormous throws. He needs to learn running, to get the right rhythm, work on his body position and use more than only his arm to throw. If he can learn this and has a good coach he could dominate javelin throwing like (Jan) Zelezny or me,” he said.
Commenting on Sachin’s technique, he said, “I wasn’t really surprised about Sachin’s result because I still follow what’s going on in the world of javelin throwing. He performed really well and also on a stable (consistent) level and was one of the throwers with the most stable series. But technique… rhythm, body stability problems hindered him from getting onto the podium. His technique is very basic.”
Under Hohn’s guidance, Neeraj won gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games and CWG. But his contract was not renewed after the Tokyo Olympics, as he reportedly had a fallout with the Sports Authority of India and the Athletics Federation of India.
