Ashish Yadav won silver in the men’s javelin throw at the World Athletics U20 Championships with a throw of 74.09m, prompting Neeraj Chopra to praise the 19-year-old on X and declare that his career is only beginning.
Eugene: Ashish Yadav javelin celebrations began the moment his third-round throw of 74.09m landed at Hayward Field, confirming silver behind South Africa’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans. Within hours, Neeraj Chopra had responded publicly, turning a promising junior result into a moment that carried weight across Indian athletics.
Chopra, India’s Olympic javelin champion, wrote on X: “Always a great feeling to see Indian athletes competing and winning at the International level, this one is little more special for me as a javelin thrower. Super proud of you Ashish on your Silver at the U-20 Worlds, this is just the start!”
The endorsement matters because of who is giving it. Chopra won gold at the same championship in 2016 with a throw of 86.48m, still the junior world record, before going on to become India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist in athletics. Yadav’s silver makes him the first Indian since Chopra to win a javelin medal at the World Athletics U-20 Championships.
Ashish Yadav javelin silver comes 40cm short of his best
Heymans took gold with 80.50m, the U-20 world-leading mark for the season, while Dominica’s Addison James claimed bronze at 73.89m. Yadav’s 74.09m was enough to hold off James by 20 centimetres, but it fell short of his own personal best of 74.49m, set at the Indian Open Throws Competition in Patiala in March. The other Indian in the final, T Dharanidharan, finished sixth with a best effort of 72.35m.
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What makes the silver notable is the condition Yadav was in when he produced it. He returned from a knee injury without adequate time to train and has said he was around 80 per cent fit on the day. A throw within half a metre of his best, under those circumstances, is the detail that gives Chopra’s “just the start” line its force.
From a dry pond in Mirzapur to a Hisar medal
Two years ago, Yadav was training with a wooden javelin in a dry pond near his village of Mawaiya, in Mirzapur, while also helping his father run a milk distribution business. His route into structured athletics began when coach Arvind Kumar spotted potential in him and selected him for the Hisar Centre, run by the Sports Authority of India in collaboration with the Inspire Institute of Sport.
The transformation since then has been physical as much as technical. Yadav, six feet and one inch tall, weighed 70 kilograms when he joined Hisar; he has since built up to 84 kg. His motor-ability tests included a standing board jump of 3.10 metres, a marker of the explosive strength now underpinning his throws.
The record
- 2016 — World U-20 Championships, Bydgoszcz: Neeraj Chopra gold, 86.48m
- 2026 — World U20 Championships, Hayward Field, Oregon: Jan-Hendrik Heymans gold, 80.50m; Ashish Yadav silver, 74.09m; Addison James bronze, 73.89m
For a teenager who was still finding his fitness on the day he medalled, the ceiling looks some way off. If Yadav can close the gap between his 74.09m at Hayward Field and his 74.49m best while returning to full fitness, the progression Chopra has flagged will have a straightforward next test: how far he can throw once the knee is no longer a factor.
