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Neeraj isn’t just my inspiration, but a hero also: Sachin Yadav
The 25-year-old from Uttar Pradesh finished fourth in the men’s javelin final but was disappointed to see Neeraj have a poor day
LUCKNOW: India’s new javelin sensation Sachin Yadav is happy with his fourth place finish in the World Championship at Tokyo, but is feeling sad for his hero Neeraj Chopra, who finished eighth on Thursday night with a throw of 84.03 metres.
“Finishing fourth is a happy moment for me, I felt bad when I saw Neeraj Chopra not on the podium. It was a big personal disappointment for me too as I have grown up in the sport watching him all the time,” Sachin told HT from Tokyo on Friday.
“I was surprised with Neeraj Bhai’s result. It really hurt me as he isn’t just my inspiration, but a hero also. I always want to become like him,” added Sachin, who threw the javelin to a personal best of 86.27 metres.
On his own achievement at the World championship, Yadav, a cop with the Uttar Pradesh Police who is posted at Noida, said he was focused on his own performance.
“I didn’t care about others, but was focused on my own throwing. I wanted to give my best and I am not disappointed at all for missing the podium by a whisker as it happens in sport. I know my time will come,” said the 25-year-old.
He, however, admitted that cricket was his first love as he wanted to be a pace bowler like Jasprit Bumrah and a batter like MS Dhoni. “One of my friends told me at my village to try my hand with javelin as I had a strong shoulder and was bowling at a good pace,” he said. “And when I started practising the javelin, it fascinated me. For the last six years, I have been truly enjoying this sport.”
Sachin, who hails from Khekra village in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh, has been training under the tutelage of Naval Sir at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. He won a silver medal at the 2025 Asian Championships and also won the gold medal at this year’s 38th National Games in Dehradun, with a meet record of 84.39 meters.
It didn’t stop there as Sachin narrowly missed the podium at the maiden Neeraj Chopra Classic meet, finishing fourth with a throw of 82.33 meters recently. Sachin was in the same group as Neeraj in the World Athletics Championships qualifier on Thursday, where he had a winding route to the final. He began with a modest 80.16m but steadied himself to close with 83.67m, finishing 10th overall to make the 12-man cut.
“Now, the athletics federation will decide which competition I will be participating in further. If I get a chance to compete in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, I will try to give my best,” he concluded.
