Young hammer thrower Anushka chases Asian Games medal

The 18-year-old, who broke the women’s national record in June, won at the Meerut athletics series meet

LUCKNOW: Teenager Anushka Yadav has emerged as India’s brightest hope in women’s hammer throw as the Asian Games in Japan approach. The successor to pioneers such as Manju Bala, who won India’s first Asian Games hammer medal, a bronze with 60.47m at Incheon in 2014 wants to change the colour of the medal.

Anushka Yadav who was competing for the first time since breaking the national record at the June Inter-State. (Sourced pics)

On Wednesday, despite a slippery throwing circle due to continuous rain at the new athletics facility at Meerut’s Kailash Prakash Stadium, Anushka topped with a throw of 64.92m in the Indian Athletics Series-15.

All eyes were on the 18-year-old from Uttar Pradesh, who was competing for the first time since breaking the national record at the June Inter-State.

Athletics Championships with a throw of 67.02m.

“I wanted to better my record, but it was slippery due to rain,” she said after the win on Wednesday. “Still, I am very satisfied with my performance. I am aiming for a podium finish at the Asian Games. I also want to cross 70m in the near future.”

Anushka’s first throw was 61.91m and she produced her best in the fourth attempt before signing off with modest 59.71m. Rajasthan’s Neha Swami (52.22m) and Haryana’s Poonam Jakhar (48.47m) were second and third respectively.

Hailing from Baghpat in western UP, Anushka made steady progress with strong domestic results. At Meerut, she was the only Asian Games-bound athlete to compete.

At the Bhubaneswar meet, Anushka twice bettered Sarita Singh’s nine-year-old national mark. She threw 65.64m in her second attempt and

67.02m in her final throw. At last year’s National Games, as a 17-year-old, she touched 62.89m to win gold.

Hammer throw runs in Anushka’s family. Her father Sushil Yadav once dreamt of becoming a hammer thrower of repute, but left the sport at 18. However, he encouraged his daughter to pursue the technical and physically demanding event.

Family support has been crucial as the teenager went through the grind of domestic competitions, training cycles, and the search for quality coaching and competition exposure.

She has quickly climbed the ranks through junior and senior levels, transitioning to a national contender. This domestic season has been notable for her consistency and incremental gains in distance – key indicators for throws where small technical improvements yield results.

“I have just two wishes. First is to fulfill the dream of my father to win laurels for India at the world stage, and the second one is to make hammer throw as popular as javelin after Neeraj Chopra’s success,” she said. “Whatever I am today is because of my father and I want to win a medal at the Asian Games for him.”

RUPAL SECOND

Two-time Asian Championship relay gold medallist and local athlete Rupal Chaudhary, on an injury comeback, finished second in the women’s 400m clocking 54.89 secs. Priya Mohan won at 54.21 secs.

It was the first competitive outing for the 2022 U20 Worlds medallist since

she was sidelined with a knee injury after the 2025 World University Games. The 23-year-old viewed the race as an important milestone on the road back.

“Things didn’t go my way. I’m not happy with my performance, but I am satisfied that at least there is a restart in my career,” Rupal said.

Having undergone months of rehabilitation, Rupal wants to focus on building her fitness and reassess the training and competition schedule.