Glasgow, Aug 1 : Neeraj Chopra, the former Olympic champion from India, achieved a silver medal in the men’s javelin throw during the Commonwealth Games 2026, recording his season’s best throw of 85.83 meters.
However, this effort fell short of the gold, which was claimed by Sri Lanka’s R.T. Pathirage, who delivered an impressive throw of 89.75 meters.
This marks Yashvir Singh’s first medal at the Commonwealth Games, while Chopra adds to his collection, having previously won gold at the Gold Coast in 2018. He was unable to compete in the 2022 edition due to injury.
Chopra’s competition began with an initial throw of 80.97 meters, followed by an improved 85.83 meters in his second attempt, which ultimately became his best throw of the event. His other valid throws measured 81.29 meters and 80.73 meters, while his last two attempts were fouls.
India celebrated a successful outing with Yashvir Singh also earning a bronze medal, achieving a personal best of 85.41 meters, just 42 centimeters behind Chopra in a tightly contested event.
Pathirage’s remarkable 89.75 meters throw was the highlight of the competition, showcasing his best performance to secure the Commonwealth title.
After the second round, the top two positions were held by Pathirage and Chopra, but Yashvir Singh made a significant leap by delivering his personal best throw in the sixth round, placing him in medal contention.
Despite the pressure from former World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and Douw Smit of South Africa, who had chances to surpass him, both failed to match Yashvir’s throw.
Peters ended in fourth place with a throw of 83.88 meters, followed by Smit at 82.88 meters and Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago at 82.55 meters.
Paris Olympics gold medalist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, who was the defending champion from Birmingham, struggled and finished ninth with a throw of 77.41 meters, well below his Games record of 90.13 meters set in 2022.
Rohit Yadav, the third Indian competitor in the javelin final, secured seventh place with a best throw of 81.56 meters.
Although Neeraj missed out on gold, his silver and Yashvir’s bronze contributed to India’s success in one of the key events of the athletics program, while Pathirage’s performance was one of the notable surprises of the Games.
With these two medals in javelin throw, India’s overall medal tally reached 23, comprising five gold, 12 silver, and six bronze medals. Currently, India stands in 10th place on the medals table, with expectations of climbing higher as 10 Indian boxers advance to the finals on Friday.