As the final day of the Inter State Athletics Championships moved to a gloomy end, 25-year-old javelin thrower Rohit Yadav produced the best throw of the season by an Indian to record a 87.05m mark and confirm his berth for the Asian Games, besides double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra.
He was placed third before the last attempt but turned it around with the throw that puts him second in the World top list just behind Sri Lankan Rumesh Pathirage.
The thrower from Uttar Pradesh has been a consistent name on the Javelin circuit with personal bests hovering around 82-83m. With his latest mark, he became the third Indian to cross the 87m mark after Neeraj and Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Kumar Jena.
“Dusro ko dekh ke sochta tha ki main bhi yahi kar raha hu, pata nahi throw kab aayega (I always used to look at others and wondee when I would get this kind of throw),” Rohit told The Indian Express. “I was consistently crossing 85m in my training but it was not translating into big throws, but today it finally happened.”
The confidence preceded the competition day. Before coming to Inter-State Athletics he changed his phone wallpaper to a picture of him beside the 85m mark. “When I went to South Africa in 2019, I took this picture thinking that someday I will break this mark,” he said.
Rohit had put his wallpaper from 2019 with the 85m mark. (Express Photo | Pritish Raj)
Rohit has been around the Indian javelin scene since the past six years but the journey for him has been filled with a lot of ups and downs. “My journey as a javelin thrower hasn’t been smooth. I came through early as a youngster and then suddenly an injury put brakes on all my progress,” said Rohit.
Early breakthrough and injury
Breaking early as an 18-year-old on the circuit, Rohit threw 82.54m in 2022 and put himself on the javelin map in India. In the same year, he played in the World Championships, final finishing tenth and Commonwealth Games, finishing sixth.
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He improved to 83.40m in 2023 and was well on the course to Asian Games in Hangzhou before an injury in his throwing arm ruled him out.
“I felt that my world has crashed. I had played at World Championships final and was on the course for Asian Games. The injury came during training and I felt my heart breaking slowly,” said Rohit.
The comeback was not smooth at all as the surgery didn’t go as plan. “The surgery didn’t help me really and my rehabilitation was really slow. The year after my comeback, I only threw less that 80m,” said Rohit.
The fear of again injuring the throwing arm troubled Rohit. But once the rehabilitation picked pace, he started improving. “In 2025, I started my season with 80m throw and it gave me confidence that I still have in it me. My doubt and fear was gone,” he said.
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Rohit has a knack of performing at the Inter State Championships. He has won the national title four times and his personal bests have come in the tournament. “Last year, I did my personal best of 83.65m at the Chennai Inter State which gave me confidence for the World Championships. Though, I didn’t play well in Tokyo, it was a good year for me overall,” said Rohit.
Place at World’s elite
His 87.05m mark puts him second in the World Top list ahead of the likes of Neeraj, Anderson Peters, and World champion Keshorn Walcott.
However, Rohit knows that in order to truly put himself alongside world’s elite, he needs to be more consistent.
“This is just one throw. I need to be more consistent. I was consistent with my 82 and 83m marks, I need to do the same with this mark,” he said.
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When asked if he knows this is better than Neeraj’s mark, Rohit laughed and said, “Neeraj bhai will need just one competition to better this mark. Don’t compare me with him. He is leagues ahead.”
With both Commonwealth and Asian Games qualification done, Rohit has immediate tasks on his hands. “When I was placed third today, I just thought that nothing more can go wrong and just throw it. I think I need to get big throws in the first three attempts, so I don’t get tired,” he said.
Whether Rohit will prove to be Neeraj’s successor or not that’s a question for another time but he has cemented his place as the second best thrower in the country for now.
Sreeshankar, Pooja qualify for Asian Games
Ace long jumper Sreeshankar Murali registered his second best jump of his career at 8.38m to win the long jump title and book his Asian Games berth. The 27-year-old was pushed harder by youngster Shahnavaz Khan who jumped his personal best of 8.30m.
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In women’s high jump, national record holder Pooja won the title with 1.83m and also booked her Asian Games berth. Coming fresh from breaking the national record at the Asian U20 Championships, Pooja moved directly from 1.83m to 1.90m after all her competitors but couldn’t cross the bar.