Haryana’s Sagar soars to new heights in javelin

Returning to the field after a five-month gap due to an injury, javelin thrower Sagar stunned everyone at the All India Inter University Athletics Meet in Bhubaneswar with a gold medal winning effort of 80.82 metres.

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The Haryana athlete, representing Patiala’s Punjabi University, missed breaking Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra’s meet record by just 0.22m. In 2015, Chopra had set the meet record with a throw of 81.04m. The 23-year-old Sagar, who is participating in his third inter university meet, had last participated in the Khelo India Games in February.

“Breaking the record was never my aim. I was aiming for the gold medal but the javelin just felt perfect coming out of my hand. Before it landed, I knew it was going to be my personal best,” said Sagar, who last marked a throw of 71m in the Khelo India Games.

“It was after receiving the gold medal I came to know about missing the record by a whisker. Nevertheless, I will try to improve in my coming championships,” he added.

Sagar, who hails from Mehmra village in Fatehabad, has been training under coach Dharminder Chahal. “He has come up with a good performance after his injury, which is promising as he has a busy calendar. He will be featuring in the National Games, World University Games and National Athletics Championships next year,” said Chahal.

With comparisons being made with Chopra, Sagar is looking ahead to the next phase of his journey. “There is no comparison with Neeraj bhai, but I am surely eyeing a better 2025, not only in terms of winning medals, but setting new standards in the world of javelin throw,” said Sagar.

When asked about difficulties he faced during his recovery period, he said, “Javelin is an injury prone sport and I am focussing on avoiding any further issue with my body. I have already started taking good care of myself. In addition, I have shifted my focus on technical training as the National Games are scheduled for next month.”