Mumbai: There was an unmistakeable swagger as Ashish Yadav, shoulders loose, walked back to the seating area next to the javelin throw runway.
It was a walk that exuded confidence, after he had flung the spear to 74.09m. And it turned out to be the attempt that earned him the silver medal in men’s javelin at the U-20 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Friday night. A first on two counts.
Over the past decade, the frequency of Indians making a mark at the elite youth event has increased. But Yadav broke a drought that had lasted 10 years, becoming only the second Indian to win a javelin medal in the U-20 Worlds. With his third throw on the night he joined an exclusive group that only had Neeraj Chopra. The other first was putting India in the medals table at Eugene.
A few hours later, Chopra welcomed him to his club.
“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,” Chopra wrote in a post on social media.
At the U-20 World Championships in 2016, Chopra announced himself to the athletics world by setting the junior global record with a throw of 86.48m – a mark that still stands. It set him on the path to winning every major event – he clinched gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, the 2021 Olympics and the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
“Super proud of you Ashish on your Silver at the U-20 Worlds, this is just the start!” Chopra added.
Compared to the double Olympic and Worlds medallist, it is a more subdued start for Yadav. However, having started his journey by throwing wooden javelins near dry ponds in his hometown Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav, who is now in the army, has already come a long way.
Barely two years ago, the 19-year-old would spend time helping his father, a milkman, with the family’s milk distribution work. That was until his uncle, discus thrower Dharam Raj Yadav who won gold at the 2026 Federation Cup in May, encouraged the teenager to work on his sport more seriously.
Dharam Raj, however, is not the only sportsperson in the family. His aunt is the 2014 Commonwealth Games weightlifting bronze medallist Punam Yadav.
The young Ashish, though, is hoping to take the family name much farther.
At the Hayward Field in the University of Oregon, which was also where Chopra won silver at the 2022 World Championships, Yadav had a slow start with an opening throw of 69.96m, putting him in fourth place.
After a foul on his second throw, he sent the javelin sailing to 74.09m, which was enough to seal silver behind South Africa’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans, who threw an U-20 season leading 80.5m in his sixth throw.
For Yadav, this effort makes up for the disappointment of finishing fifth at the U-20 Asian Athletics Championships in Hong Kong in May.
The second Indian in the javelin throw final, T Dharanidharan, finished sixth with a best throw of 72.35m.
In men’s 400m, Mohammed Ashfaq finished sixth with a time of 46.20 secs. The 19-year-old had qualified for the final by setting the U-20 national record of 45.81secs in the heats, followed by a 46.0secs run in the semi-final.
It was Yadav, however, who garnered the attention from India’s standpoint on Friday, winning the country’s first medal at this U-20 Worlds.
