Missing World Championships Bronze, Finding Belief: Why Sachin Yadav's Best Is Yet To Come

Sachin Yadav's journey in Indian javelin did not begin with fireworks, headlines or hype. It began quietly almost anonymously until one throw in 2024 forced everyone to look twice.

At the All India Police

Athletics Championships, Sachin sent the javelin sailing out to 84.21m, a distance that stunned the field. It didn't count officially, but it counted in every other way. Indian javelin had found a new contender.

Until then, Sachin had been largely under the radar. His personal best stood at 82.69m, respectable but not disruptive. That changed in 2025. Slowly but surely, he turned potential into proof.

The season opened with gold at the National Games in Uttarakhand, where Sachin unleashed 84.39m, rewriting his personal best and breaking a 10-year-old meet record held by Rajinder Singh. The message was clear: this wasn't a one-off.

At the Federation Cup 2025, he backed it up with another gold, throwing 83.86m and defeating Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Jena. Confidence followed consistency. Then came his first true international test at the Asian Championships in Gumi, where Sachin rose to the occasion, winning silver with 85.16m, yet another personal best.

But it was Tokyo that truly announced his arrival. At the World Championships, Sachin finished fourth, throwing a massive 86.27m, missing the bronze by just 40 centimetres. No medal but unmistakable validation.

"I don't think much about the World Championships anymore," Sachin admits to myKhel. "Thinking about it would demotivate me, as the medal opportunity has already slipped away. " It's a telling insight into his mindset forward-looking, grounded, ruthless with distractions.

Training at Delhi's JLN Stadium under Naval Singh and Sergey Makarov, Sachin remains refreshingly unfazed by conditions. "Only the mindset matters; the practice remains the same," he says.

Last season, he improved his personal best three times 84.39m, 85.16m, 86.27m a rare marker of upward momentum. Asked about 2026 and the elusive 90m barrier, Sachin is honest. "It could take one year, or even five. I can't put a timeline on it. "

What he can put a target on, though, is the podium. "If I compete at the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games, I will aim for a podium finish. "

With this trajectory, that ambition no longer feels optimistic it feels inevitable.