In his first-ever appearance at the World Athletics Championships final in Tokyo on September 18, India's Sachin Yadav delivered a career-best performance, narrowly missing out on a podium finish. The 25-year-old launched the javelin to an impressive 86.27m with his very first throw, a new personal best. This effort initially placed him in a medal position, but he ultimately finished in fourth place, just 40 centimetres shy of the bronze medal.
Sachin Yadav falls short of World Championships medal by 40cm
While Yadav's performance was a highlight, it was a day of disappointment for defending world champion and two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, who struggled to find his form and finished eighth with a throw of 84.03m. The much-anticipated rivalry between Chopra and Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem did not materialize, as Nadeem finished in 10th place. Instead, Sachin Yadav emerged as India's top performer, outshining both established stars.
Yadav entered the final with a personal best of 85.16m, but he surpassed that mark on his opening attempt, which temporarily put him in the silver medal position. After a foul on his second try, a throw of 85.71m moved him to fourth. He followed this with consistent efforts of 84.90m, 85.96m, and 80.95m, but could not close the narrow 40-centimetre gap to secure a medal.
During the qualification round, both Indian athletes secured their spots in the final. Two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra advanced comfortably with a single throw of 84.50m, while Sachin Yadav qualified as the second Indian with an effort of 83.67m. In the final, however, their fortunes reversed. Chopra was unable to find his rhythm, failing to surpass the 85-meter mark in any of his six attempts. In contrast, Sachin made a powerful statement with his opening throw, which kept him in the hunt for a medal until the very end.
The gold medal was ultimately won by Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott, the 2012 Olympic champion, who recorded a season's best of 88.16m to claim his nation's first-ever men's javelin world title. Anderson Peters of Grenada, a two-time former world champion, took home the silver with a throw of 87.38m. The bronze medal went to Curtis Thompson from the United States, whose throw of 86.67m was just enough to push Sachin Yadav into fourth place. India had two other competitors in the event, Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh, but both were eliminated in the qualification stage, finishing 28th and 30th respectively. As a result, India did not add any medals in the javelin throw at the championship.