At Asian Athletics Championships, India's second best javelin thrower to challenge Arshad Nadeem in Neeraj Chopra's absence
Sachin Yadav insists he doesn't care much about who he is competing against. But when he steps on the runway, it'll be hard not to notice the burly Arshad Nadeem.
In his debut international tournament, India's second-best javelin thrower will be up against arguably the best in the world. And in Neeraj Chopra's absence, the 25-year-old Yadav will lead India's chances in javelin.
This will be among the many storylines that will unfold this week at the Asian Athletics Championships, which get underway in Gumi, South Korea, on Tuesday.
On his part, Yadav sounded relaxed ahead of the big showdown. 'I am thinking about the event but my focus is to do what I have been doing in the training. I am not under any pressure for now,' he told The Indian Express. 'I don't focus much on the field and who I am competing against. I will give my best and the result will be dependent on how my efforts are while throwing the javelin.'
The 6'5' tall thrower, whose personal best is 84.39m, might not yet be in the same league as Nadeem, who threw 92.97m to win the Paris Olympics gold medal last year. But the Asian Championships will be a good marker for Yadav, who has the World Championship qualification as his key target this week.
'My main aim is to breach the 85.50m qualification mark for the World Championships. A secured berth at the World Championships will give me more confidence.'
Yadav will be up against the throwers from another South Asian country, Sri Lanka. The island nation will be represented by Sumedha Ranasinghe and Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage. Both have recently crossed the 85m mark in recent months, with Ranasinghe throwing 85.78m while Pathirage's personal best is 85.41m.
Yash Vir Singh will be the other Indian in the javelin throw competition ready to make his mark. With a personal best of 82.13m and season best of 80.85m, Yash will need a solid throw to fight for a spot on the podium.
Middle Distance boom
India is fielding a solid team in the middle-distance events, with Avinash Sable, Parul Chaudhary and Gulveer Singh leading the medal expectations. All three have been dominant in Asia. Sable clinched the gold medal in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2023 Asian Games by some distance while Gulveer has been on a record-breaking spree since the start of 2025.
Sable, who has hit top form yet having managed a season-best of just 8:22.59, will once again be the favourite to win gold as his closest competitor, Ryuji Miura of Japan, won't be participating in the event. He'll have to be watchful of another Japanese runner, though — Ryoma Aoki.
Similarly, in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, Parul will be India's best bet and will face competition from Olympic champion Winfred Yavi of Brunei and Norah Jeruto of Kazakhstan. All three runners ran at the Doha Diamond League with Winfred clocking 9:05.26, Norah clocking 9:11.78, and Parul clocking 9:13.39, also bettering her national record. The same athletes are likely to feature on the podium in Gumi.
Gulveer has been the best Indian runner across disciplines since the start of the year, breaking 5,000m and 10,000m national records. He currently leads the chart in the continent in both disciplines. In February this year, Gulveer broke the 5000m national record clocking 12:59.77. Similarly, in the 10,000m, he clocked 27:00.22 to set the mark. In both events, his nearest competitors are far from his mark with Mebuki Suzuki of Japan clocking 27:28.82 in 10,000m and Kayuza Shijori clocking 13:13.59 in 5000m.
A sprint to the podium?
While India isn't sending anyone in the 100m sprint, Animesh Kujur will be up against the best in the continent in the 200m event. He is placed at third in the top list of Asia with a timing of 20.40s which is also the national record.
The focus, however, will be on the men's 4x100m relay team. The quarter, comprising 100m national record holder Gurindervir Singh, Amlan Borgohain, Kujur and Manikanta Hoblidhar, broke the national record last month after clocking 38.69s.
India last won a medal in the 4x100m relay in 1979 when Adille Sumariwalla, Ramaswamy Gnanasekaran, O.L. Thomas, and Thamizharasan clocked 40.41 to win the bronze medal.
'The boys have trained together and they know what is expected of them. I am expecting a good performance from them and if they run like they ran to break the national record, a medal is a possibility,' James Hillier, sprint coach at Reliance Foundation, chimed in about chances in the 4x100m relay.
Other Indians who will be facing tough competition in their respective disciplines are Jyothi Yarraji (110m hurdles), Tejaswin Shankar (Decathlon), Ancy Sojan, Shaili Singh (Long Jump), and Praveen Chitravel (Triple Jump).
India is sending a 59-member contingent that will aim to finish in the top two of the medals tally after finishing third at the 2023 edition in Bangkok with six gold, 12 silver, and nine bronze medals behind Japan and China.
Schedule for finals (All timings in IST)
27th May
4:30 AM – 20km Race Walk Men Final – Servin Sebastian, Amit
11:10 AM – Javelin Throw Women Final – Annu Rani
12:50 PM – 10,000m men Final – Gulveer Singh, Sawan Barwal
Decathlon (5 events)- Tejaswin Shankar
Live on STN Sports YouTube channel
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