I let slip a World Championship medal, rues Sachin Yadav

New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) Outperforming the likes of Neeraj Chopra and Julian Weber in his debut World Championship is a nice feeling but India’s new-found javelin throw talent Sachin Yadav says it cannot make up for the disappointment of “letting slip” an unlikely bronze after a strong start.

Unheralded Yadav, participating in only his second international event, upstaged celebrated competitors like two-time Olympic medallist Chopra (84.03m), reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem (82.75m) and Diamond League trophy winner Julian Weber (86.11m) in Tokyo on Thursday in a surprisingly strong show.

The Indian’s first-round throw of 86.27m was a personal best, bettering the earlier mark of 85.16m recorded while winning a silver in the Asian Championships

in May, which was his first international event. Curtis Thompson of the USA won the bronze with 86.67m — 40cm better than Yadav’s effort.

“The opening throw went very well. Weather conditions were good, my body was in great shape and execution was near perfect. The moment I saw my javelin land, I thought I can win a medal. I was confident I would pull off at least one throw of 87m,” Yadav told PTI from Tokyo.

“I was competing against the world’s best and naturally your performance gets better. But I could not improve my first throw in next five attempts despite trying my best. So, I feel I let slip a World Championships medal,” the 25-year-old rued.

His second throw was a foul and the remaining four measured 85.71m, 84.90m, 85.96m and 80.95m. Three of his legal throws were better than his earlier personal best.

Hailing from a farmers’ family at Khekra village near Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav also felt sad for defending champion Chopra, who was eliminated after the fifth round after an underwhelming show due to back pain.

“Me and Neeraj bhai kept talking during the final. After my first throw, he told me we should get two medals. I knew he was dealing with a back problem but he must be hoping that he would pull off a good throw somehow.

“I was trying to better my first round throw but at the same time I felt sad for Neeraj bhai. It was the first time he was not on podium (since Tokyo Olympics in 2021). In any case, our country was to win a medal. That also did not happen, so I felt bad.” First time Yadav’s village home got clicked =========================== Yadav said his parents do not know much about athletics, leave alone World Championships, and they were surprised to see photo journalists at their village home after his Tokyo performance.

“I have spoken to my mother. My parents are happy but they don’t think much about all this, World Championships and winning medals etc. They just wanted me to get a government job.

“They have never even seen the media. They have not seen anything. So for the first time it happened that the media went to my home and took a photo. My mother told me that some people came to our house and took photographs.” Yadav is now with the UP Police, having joined the force in 2023 under the sports quota.

His father had to take loans for his his treatment after Yadav suffered an elbow injury at the start of his career in 2021.

“I am injury prone. I had elbow injury just when I started javelin and then had another in between,” he said.

Early this year also, he twisted his ankle while winning gold in the Uttarakhand National Games. He did rehabilitation and came back after lying low for around two months.

“I am in TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) and I have OGQ as my sponsor. So, I am better off now as far as the financial situation is concerned.” 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, also a javelin thrower, saw Yadav bowling at a good speed. Only last year, he introduced Yadav to well-known coach Naval Singh who has mentored the likes of Olympian Shivpal Singh and Paralympic gold-winners Sumit Antil and Navdeep Singh.

Training base shift, Diamond League in offing ============================= It is highly likely that Yadav will shift his training base from the National Centre Of Excellence (NCOE) in Delhi to either Patiala or Bengaluru.

National chief javelin throw coach Sergey Makarov, a Russian who won two Olympic medals in his prime, is currently based in Patiala. Makarov, a former javelin world champion, was also in Tokyo.

“Sachin is a raw talent, lacking in international experience. He throws 90m in training. He needs some polishing in his technique, approach and like that, and with experience, he will throw farther,” Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) Planning Commission head Lalit Bhanot said.

“We will decide about Sachin once the athletes return home (on September 22). Besides Neeraj, he is our medal hope in global events. Now with Neeraj and Sachin, we can win two javelin medals in global events.” Yadav is leaving it on the AFI and the coaches to decide where to train and which competitions to participate next season.

Asked if he would want to compete in the prestigious Diamond League meetings next season, Yadav said, “Once we reach India, my coaches, the federation and the authorities will meet and decide on these things. I have to follow their decision in every way.” PTI PDS PM PDS PM PM