Ashish Yadav Ends India’s 10-Year Wait For World U20 Men’s Javelin Medal Since Neeraj Chopra’s 2016 Gold

Ashish Yadav announced himself as India’s newest javelin prospect by winning silver in the men’s javelin throw at the World Athletics U20 Championships on Friday, giving the country its first medal of the 2026 edition and placing his name alongside Neeraj Chopra in the record books.

The 19-year-old produced a best effort of 74.09m in the third round, a throw that was enough to secure second place in a high-quality final. The mark was just 40cm short of his personal best of 74.49m, recorded at the Indian Open Throws Competition in Patiala earlier this year.

With the silver, Yadav became only the second Indian after Neeraj Chopra to win a medal in the men’s javelin at the World U20 Championships. Chopra had famously claimed gold at the 2016 championships in Poland, setting the still-standing world U20 record of 86.48m during his title-winning performance.

Yadav’s achievement is particularly significant because it comes 10 years after Chopra’s breakthrough triumph, underlining India’s growing strength in the javelin throw on the international stage.

Yadav’s feat also drew praise from two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, who said the achievement felt particularly special to him as a fellow javelin thrower.

Congratulating the youngster on X, Chopra wrote, “Always a great feeling to see Indian athletes competing and winning at the international level. This one is a 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!”

South Africa’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans took the gold medal with a superb 80.50m effort in his sixth and final attempt, which also became the season’s U20 world-leading mark. Dominica’s Addison James earned bronze with 73.89m.

India had another finalist in the event, with T Dharanidharan finishing sixth with 72.35m.

The Indian contingent also enjoyed success in the field events elsewhere. Pooja Singh, who holds the senior national record of 1.93m, advanced to the women’s high jump final after clearing 1.79m during qualification.

All 14 athletes who managed that height across the two groups progressed to the medal round.

In the men’s long jump, both Shahnavaz Khan and Jithin Arjuna booked places in the final. Shahnavaz registered 7.73m with his third and final attempt to finish fifth overall in qualification, while Jithin secured the 12th and final qualifying spot with a jump of 7.57m.

Italy’s Daniele Inzoli was the standout performer in qualifying, producing 8.15m to become the only athlete to cross the automatic qualifying standard of 8.00m.

On the track, Mohommed Ashfaq finished eighth in the men’s 400m final with a time of 46.20 seconds. Ashfaq had entered the final after breaking the Indian U20 record with 45.81 seconds in the heats a day earlier.

The gold medal went to American Jayden Deleon, who clocked a championship-record 44.47 seconds, while fellow American Quincy Wilson took silver in 44.62 seconds and South Africa’s Leendert Koekemoer claimed bronze in 44.96 seconds.