New Delhi: India’s Ashish Yadav and T Dharanidharan qualified for the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026 in Oregon on Tuesday to keep the country’s medal hopes alive at the competition.
Both missed the direct qualification mark of 72.50m, but managed to qualify for the final from their respective groups.
Ashish was part of Group A in the qualifying round and produced the best throw of 69.87m to reach the men’s javelin final at the World Athletics U20 Championships. Meanwhile, Dharanidharan finished fifth in Group B with the best effort of 68.07m but managed to grab a spot in the top 12 overall to reach the final.
South Africa’s Jan-Hendrick Heymans was the only athlete to breach the automatic qualification mark of 72.50m with his best effort of 76.2m. He topped the standings in the qualifying round and will start as one of the favourites for the gold medal in the final.
Following Neeraj Chopra’s footsteps
While both Ashish and Dharanidharan failed to achieve the automatic qualification mark and were not among the top three in the qualifying round, they have a lot of room to improve in the final. Ashish produced his personal best throw of 74.49m, while Dharanidharan has the personal best of 73.42m, which he achieved in June this year.
Both athletes have scope for significant improvement in the final, where they will be hoping to bag a medal and walk in the footsteps of the legendary . India’s double Olympic medallist Neeraj announced his arrival at the big stage by winning the gold medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2016.
Neeraj produced a sensational throw of 86.48m in the men’s javelin final at the 2016 edition of the tournament in Bydgoszcz to break the then U20 world record and become India’s first-ever gold medallist at the World Athletics U20 Championships. There has been no looking back for Neeraj ever since, as he has continued to scale new heights in javelin throw.
Ashish and Dharanidharan now stand on the cusp of replicating Neeraj’s feat from a decade ago. While the duo will be hoping for gold, even a medal in the final will be of significant importance for the sport in the country. The men’s javelin final is scheduled to take place on Friday, August 7, and India will be hoping for a strong show from the duo.