Indian javelin thrower Ashish Yadav clinched a silver medal at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships held in Oregon with a throw measuring 74.09 meters. This achievement marks India's inaugural medal at the 2026 championships and positions Yadav as only the second Indian athlete to secure a javelin medal at this prestigious junior event.

Indian javelin thrower Ashish Yadav clinched a silver medal at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships held in Oregon with a throw measuring 74.09 meters. This achievement marks India's inaugural medal at the 2026 championships and positions Yadav as only the second Indian athlete to secure a javelin medal at this prestigious junior event.

Indian javelin thrower Ashish Yadav clinched a silver medal at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships held in Oregon with a throw measuring 74.09 meters. This achievement marks India's inaugural medal at the 2026 championships and positions Yadav as only the second Indian athlete to secure a javelin medal at this prestigious junior event.

It was in 2016 that Neeraj Chopra won gold at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships. Since then, India has sent numerous javelin throwers to the event, but it took 10 years for the next talent to emerge: Ashish Yadav.

The 19-year-old, with his 74.09m throw, won silver at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships on August 7 in Oregon, United States. Ashish qualified for the final by recording a 69.87m effort. His medal is India’s first at the 2026 edition of the championships, and he is now only the second Indian to win a javelin medal at the event.

At the Championships, Jan-Hendrik Heymans of South Africa was leading from his very first attempt with a throw of 76.92m. He bagged the gold with a stunning season’s best throw of 80.50m in the under-20 category. Ashish’s throws reached 69.96m, 74.09m, 72.31m, 70.62m, and 67.98m, respectively.

Addison James of Dominica took the bronze with his throw of 73.89m.

India’s T. Dharanidharan also made the final with a 68.07m throw. With that throw, he secured the 12th and final place in the final with a throw of 72.35 m. 



Ashish’s journey to the podium

Prior to his glory at the championships, Ashish competed for Uttar Pradesh at domestic and national tournaments.

In March 2026, he claimed the U-20 title at the Indian Open Throws Competition in Patiala, producing a personal best of 74.49m with his final attempt. He took second place at the 24th National Junior Athletics Federation Competition held in Bengaluru in April 2026.

After a disappointing fifth-place finish at the Under-20 Asian Athletics Championships, he bounced back at the Indian Athletics Series held in Ludhiana in June 2026. At the event, he bagged a bronze with his 72.27m throw.

This success at the under-20 event helped him gain qualification for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships 2026. According to the World Athletics website, Ashish’s current world ranking is 190.

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