From idolising Neeraj Chopra to upstaging him at Worlds, Sachin Yadav gains global recognition

Built like a tank that weighs nearly 100 kg and stands at six feet, five inches tall, Sachin Yadav has gained global recognition by upstaging three superstars of javelin sport, including his idol Neeraj Chopra, on his World Championship debut.

By finishing ahead of the celebrated Chopra, Paris Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem and Diamond League trophy winner Julian Weber, Sachin ended up doing what seemed impossible at the start of the event’s final in Tokyo on Thursday, for this was an uncharted territory for the 25-year-old from Uttar Pradesh.

Also read: Neeraj Chopra, Arshad Nadeem crash out of World Athletics Championships final

Hailing from a farmer’s family at Khekra village near Baghpat, Yadav bettered his earlier personal best of 85.16m to take the fourth spot with a first round throw of 86.27m.

Weber, the pre-event frontrunner for the gold, ended at fifth with 86.11m, while Chopra, who was defending the gold he had won in the 2023, finished eighth. Pakistan’s Nadeem was tenth with 82.75m.

He was 0.40m behind bronze winner Curtis Thompson (86.67m) of USA. London 2012 champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago won the gold with 88.16m while Anderson Peters of Grenada bagged the silver with 87.38m.

Yadav’s rise has been meteoric and that too without a qualified coach in his initial years. He was introduced to javelin by his neighbour Sandeep Yadav who saw the tall youngster playing cricket for fun.

During one of the friendly cricket matches at his village, Sandeep saw Yadav bowling at a good speed.

“It was during a five or 10-over fun match youngsters normally play at village grounds, Sandeep bhai saw me and said my shoulder speed was good and I was bowling fast,” Yadav said earlier.

“He advised me to take up javelin. He later recommended me to train under noted javelin coach Naval Singh in New Delhi (at the NCoE at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium). That is how I started.” That was when he was around 19.

Initially, Yadav did not have a proper coach and Sandeep, a javelin thrower without much success, was the only one guiding him.

After a few events at the district and state level, Yadav first took part at a national competition during the Inter University meet in 2000, and he finished seventh in the final with a throw of 66.09m.

He could not touch 70m till 2021 but that year he suffered an elbow injury which needed a surgery. His father had to take loans for his treatment.

After recovering from the injury, Yadav’s performance improved. He hit the coveted 80m mark during the Federation Cup in May 2023 in Ranchi. He finished third with 80.27m, but more than that, entering the 80m club force the officials and coaches to sit up and take note of him.

It was Sandeep who convinced noted coach Naval Singh to take Yadav under his tutelage. Sandeep had trained under Naval, who has coached the likes of Olympian Shivpal Singh and Paralympic gold winners Sumit Antil and Navdeep Singh.

“The training under Naval Singh sir changed my life. I did not even imagine that I would reach this stage. But it happened due to Sandeep bhai and guruji (Naval Singh),” said Yadav before the Asian Championships in Korea this year.

“Neeraj bhai is my idol, my favourite. If he can cross 90m, why can’t we? We need to work hard, have nutritious food and give our best.”

This year, Yadav has achieved plenty of success. He won gold in the Uttarakhand National Games with a throw of 84.39m, and pocketed another yellow metal in the Federation Cup with 83.86m.

The Asian Championships in May was his first international competition. He won a silver with his then personal best of 85.16m, behind Nadeem who won gold with 86.40m.

In Tokyo, Yadav avenged that defeat to Nadeem.

“I am very happy for Sachin (Yadav). He had some very good throws at such a big competition. I though India would get a medal today. The future of Indian javelin is bright,” Chopra said on Thursday in Tokyo.

Yadav is now with the UP Police, having joined the force in 2023 under the sports quota.