Bittersweet debut: Sachin Yadav gives Arshad Nadeem tough fight to win silver but misses direct World Championships qualification
After the first four throws, it looked like Sachin Yadav would not finish on the podium in his first-ever international tournament. The young javelin thrower failed to hit the 80m mark and was out of the podium spots, having managed a best throw of just 79.65m; his other throws read 74.05m, 72.07m, 77.37m). Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, meanwhile, led with 85.57m.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he turned things around. In his fifth attempt, Yadav came up with an 83.08m throw, which helped him to jump to the second spot. And then, in his final attempt, he nailed a new personal best throw of 85.16m to win a silver medal on his international debut. Nadeem, meanwhile, claimed the gold medal with an 86.40m throw in his final attempt.
'My body was a little tight in the first three throws. In between, I asked fellow thrower Yash Vir to help relax my muscles. That is when the body started responding, and I threw beyond 80m in my fifth attempt,' Yadav said. 'I am happy with the personal best, but I am not satisfied with this performance. I missed out on World Championships qualification, which I will try to achieve in the upcoming tournaments,' he added.
Yadav's coach, Naval Singh, is not happy with the performance and believes that the thrower can be consistent towards the 85m mark.
'Mujhe bilkul bhi khushi nahi hai uske performance ki (I am not happy with his performance). Since the day we arrived in Korea, he was throwing much better in the practice throws. His body was a little stiff during the competition. During the throws, I talked to him and reminded him that he has practised well to achieve those distances,' Naval told The Indian Express over a phone call from Korea. 'He can go beyond the 85m mark consistently, but the weather and conditions were a little different for him as this is his first international trip,' Naval added further.
When asked if Yadav was under pressure of facing Olympic champion Nadeem, Naval said, 'Both the throwers were hovering around the 85m mark, and he (Arshad) won it in the last throw. If Sachin had started well, I am sure he would have gone beyond Arshad's mark by the last throw.'
Yadav had set the target of qualification for the World Championships through this tournament, but he missed the qualification mark set by World Athletics by 34 cm.
'I am returning with a medal and a new personal best. I will go back and continue my training. I injured my ankle earlier this year, and then a shoulder injury also came along. It was one of the reasons I couldn't train very well,' Yadav said. 'I haven't set any timeline to achieve the world championships qualification, I just want to throw my best in the next competition I play.'
After returning from Korea, the thrower will travel to Finland to compete in three competitions, trying to achieve the direct qualification. 'Since we have set the target of qualifying for the Worlds, we will achieve it. We have got permission from the Athletics' Federation of India to participate in these events,' Naval Singh confirmed.
In the recent months, Yadav has emerged as India's number two in the javelin throw behind World champion Neeraj Chopra. The 25-year-old from Uttar Pradesh started the 2025 season with a personal best of 84.39m at the National Games in Dehradun. However, he sustained an ankle injury in his blocking leg during the same event and performed poorly at the India Open Throws.
He returned with 83.86m at the Federation Cup in Kochi before travelling to Korea.
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