Khekra (Uttar Pradesh)’s newfound javelin sensation, Sachin Yadav, threw his personal best of 86.27 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday to finish fourth and beat the likes of Neeraj Chopra, his compatriot and India’s most storied athlete, and world-beater Jullian Weber.
But Yadav isn’t satisfied and believes that he let a medal slip away from his grasp because he failed to build on his start. Yadav, participating in only his second international event, crossed the 86 metre barrier in his first attempt, bettering the earlier mark of 85.16m recorded in his silver medal win at the Asian Championships in May. However, his first turned out to be his best with throws of 85.71m, 84.90m, and 85.96m to follow.
“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 news agency 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 added.
Hailing from a farmer’s family at Khekra village near Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav has become a celebrity overnight, with reporters thronging his family home. Yadav also revealed that his family has never cared about world medals and only wanted him to get a government job, which he has had since 2023.
‘I felt sad for Neeraj bhai’: Sachin Yadav
Yadav’s sensational performance was coupled with a disappointing one from Chopra, who, dealing with a back injury, could throw a best of 84.03m to finish eighth. Yadav said he was ‘sad’ that Chopra missed the podium in an international event for the first time in four years, more so because how kind the senior thrower was with him.
“Me and Neeraj bhai kept talking during the final,” Yadav said. “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,” he added.
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