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Mirzapur’s Ashish almost does a Neeraj Chopra
Ashish Yadav of Uttar Pradesh won silver in men's javelin at the World Athletics U20 Championships, marking him as India's second male javelin medallist.
Uttar Pradesh’s Ashish Yadav claimed silver in the men’s javelin at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, producing a best throw of 74.09 metres to etch his name in Indian athletics history. His podium finish makes him only the second Indian male javelin medallist at the global junior level after Neeraj Chopra’s gold in 2016.
He opened with 69.96m, recorded a foul on his second attempt, then unleashed his season’s best 74.09m on the third throw—a mark that held firm for silver.
Mirzapur’s Yadav added further legal efforts of 72.31m, 70.62m, and 67.98m, closing a competitive set of six attempts. South Africa’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans took gold with a commanding 80.50m, while Addison James of Dominica secured bronze at 73.89m.
Though Yadav, lovingly referred to as ‘Dhoni in athletics’ in his group of former trainees in Jaunpur, remained far from the 80-plus metre group of javelin throwers from Uttar Pradesh, including Olympian Rohit Yadav, who recently finished fifth in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, his medal signals continued depth in India’s junior javelin pipeline and offers encouragement for future senior-level prospects.
“I had a little pain in my ankle, so I was a little scared. Because of that, I couldn’t perform well initially. I thought I would throw 79m, but I couldn’t do it. I slept at around midnight and woke up at 7 in the morning. After that, I was a little scared and kept thinking, ‘Will I perform well or not?’ I was not thinking about winning a medal. I just wanted to give my best,” Ashish Yadav said over the phone.
He calls Neeraj Chopra his inspiration. “I feel very good about my win. Neeraj Sir had uploaded a video on social media, and I watched it. In the video, he said that we should not hesitate when it comes to our performance,” he said, adding, “He told us to keep working hard and focus on what lies ahead. He also said not to focus too much on supplements and not to do unnecessary things. His message motivated me.”
On being asked about missing a medal at the Asian U-20 Championships this year, Yadav admitted that things didn’t happen accordingly. “There was a small problem. I had done some good throws during the warm-up, but the weather conditions were not good. The food was also not good, and I was not getting proper food.”
“The weather here was good for me. I had been training at JSW in Bellary, and the weather conditions there were similar to what we had here, so I was comfortable today,” he further said.
Yadav belongs to a family of sportspersons as his uncle Dharmaraj, is a discus thrower, and his aunt, Poonam Yadav is a Commonwealth Games medallist. “The success stories of my family members always inspired me. My coach, Arvind Kumar is like God to us and he helped me reach this level. He trusted me a lot. When I started with him, I was throwing around 60m. In six months, he helped me improve significantly. I joined him in April 2025,” he said.
He said that despite being a fertile place for sportspersons, his home town Mirzapur lacks adequate facilities for sports. “In Mirzapur, there is no proper stadium, no facilities and hardly any infrastructure for athletics. I played and competed a lot while I was there. I won many medals at the state and national levels, but we did not receive any support from the Mirzapur district.”
“No one from the district contacted us or asked about our performances. There is very little support for athletes in Mirzapur. The place I come from is known for criminal activities. Parents in my village do not always focus enough on the schooling and education of their children. But my parents made sure that I did not fall into the wrong company.
“I was doing javelin throw in my hometown, but I did not have proper coaching there. I then came to Jaipur in April 2025 to train under Arvind Sir. When I first came to him, I was throwing a wooden javelin. Later, when I came to Hisar, I started training properly with a javelin.
