New Delhi: Ashish Yadav became the first Indian since Neeraj Chopra to win a medal in men’s javelin at the World Under-20 Athletics Championships. Yadav held his own in a quality field to claim the silver medal at the meet in Eugene, Oregon with a throw of 74.09m.
It was at this stage that two-time Olympic medallist Chopra had announced himself to the world with a junior world record throw of 86.48m — the mark still stands as the World U20 best. Since that meet in Poland, every edition of the championships has evinced interest among Indians, but none could finish on the podium in javelin. Yadav ended that wait on Friday.
Yadav qualified for the final with a throw of 69.80m. Fellow Indian T Dharanidharan also made the final with a 68.07m. In the final, Yadav, whose personal best is 74.49m, achieved coming into the tournament, moved into second place with his third throw of 74.09m. Yadav’s series was 69.96m, x, 74.09m, 72.31m, 70.62m, 67.98m.
South Africa’s Jan Hendrik Heymans was way ahead of the field, taking gold with a brilliant 80.50m — season’s best in the age category — in his final attempt. He had taken the lead with his very first throw of 76.92m. Addison James of Dominica finished third with 73.89m. Dharanidharan was placed sixth with 72.35m.
Since Chopra’s sensational effort in 2016 made him the first world junior athletics champion from the country. Since then, India has had several throwers qualify for the global meet, which is considered a stepping stone to the elite level.
However, none could finish on the podium. At the 2022 World U20 Championships, India’s Vivek Kumar finished fourth with a personal best of 72.17m. In 2021, Kunwer Ajai Singh Rana and Jay Kumar finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while in 2018, Sahil Silwal was fourth.
In men’s 400m final, India’s Mohammad Ashfaq finished eighth in the final, clocking 46.20 seconds. Ashfaq had set an U20 national record in the heats at 45.81 seconds.
