6 min readAug 8, 2026 06:03 PM IST
First published on: Aug 8, 2026 at 02:21 PM IST
When he took up the sport two years ago, Ashish Yadav trained with a wooden javelin in a dry pond with patches of quicksand near his village, Mawaiya, Mirzapur. It was more out of compulsion than choice, as there were no other open spaces. On Saturday, the 19-year-old, inspired by Olympic Games and World Championship medallist Neeraj Chopra’s exploits, won a silver — India’s first medal in this edition of the Under-20 World Championships — at Hayward Field in Oregon, USA.
Ashish became the first Indian since Chopra’s historic gold in 2016 to win a medal in javelin at the junior World Championships. Though Ashish didn’t produce a big throw like Chopra’s 86.48 metres — the junior world record, set in Bydgoszcz, Poland — he did what is crucial in championships: secure a podium finish. His throw of 74.09 metres was enough for silver.
South Africa’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans won gold (80.50m), while Addison James of Dominica, with 73.89 metres, registered a national record to win bronze. Ashish didn’t get enough time to practise after returning from a knee injury. But his resolve to win a medal helped open India’s account despite him not being fully fit.
“There are sportspersons in my family. My aunty, Punam Yadav, is a weightlifter who won a medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Seeing her, I wanted to get into sports. My uncle is a discus thrower and an Army man. Neeraj bhai is an inspiration for taking up the javelin. I still have a lot more to do, so I don’t want to be compared to Neeraj bhai. But this medal is a good start for me because it proved that I can compete at the highest level and finish on the podium. I was about 80 per cent fit, but I am not using that as an excuse. Injuries are bound to happen,” Ashish told The Indian Express from Eugene.
Milkman father
Until Ashish became serious about the sport, he helped his father in the milk distribution business.
“Until I was 17, I used to help my father, who is a milkman. From the age of 10, I went to houses in and around my village and milked cows and buffaloes. My father would sell the milk,” Ashish said.
His discus-thrower uncle, Dharamraj Singh, irritated that he neither took up a sport seriously nor studied well, gave him a tongue-lashing one day. The uncle promised to get him wooden javelins, which cost Rs 1,200 each. Mawaiya and nearby villages didn’t have a proper ground. But that didn’t stop Ashish from trying to become the next Chopra.
“The pond, which is about 2 kilometres away from home, would dry up. I could throw without being worried about hitting someone with the wooden javelin. But there was a risk because there were spots which were like quicksand. Every year, there are incidents of children being sucked into the mud. Children have died too. I got a beating a few times when my family got to know about where I was training. But I was always careful. There is a Shivji mandir near the pond, so I was sure I would be protected. There is no proper ground in Mirzapur or in my village. I had to start somewhere,” Ashish said.
Dharamraj said Ashish would watch videos of Chopra on loop. “I told Ashish you have to work hard and not lose heart because javelin is not an easy sport. Also, the competition in India is very tough. The silver at the World Championships proves he is on the right track.”
Winning silver at the Under-20 World Championships made up for his fifth-place finish at the Under-20 Asian Championships in Hong Kong in May. Ashish got his big break when he was selected to train at the Hisar Centre, which is run by the Sports Authority of India in collaboration with the Inspire Institute of Sport.
“Usually, athletes from Uttar Pradesh don’t get selected at the Hisar Centre easily. But Arvind Kumar, the coach at the Hisar Centre, saw potential in me and selected me. When I joined the centre, my weight was just 70 kilograms; now it is 84 kg. I am six feet and one inch tall. Earlier, I was underweight, but my coach taught me the importance of eating well and training right. He is like a god to me; he treats me like his own son. Whatever money I needed for the sport, my uncle and my coach would give. They have not asked me to return a single rupee.”
Coach Kumar was impressed by Ashish’s explosive speed, though he didn’t top the trials with 64 metres. “We conduct motor-ability tests. His standing board jump was 3.10 metres. Anything over 3 metres is very good; most of the kids do about 2.70 metres, 2.80 metres. His vertical jump was also good. He had a lean body, was tall and his speed was good, which can help a javelin thrower,” he said.
Before the final, the coach told Ashish not to overthink.
Ashish’s next target is to improve his speed on the runway. “Technically, I have to make changes. I won’t rest on my laurels. Javelin is booming in India; one can’t afford to take it easy.”
(left) Ashish Yadav with his medal (right) An earlier picture of Ashish Yadav training in Mawaiya village in Mirzapur. He is now a trainee of the SAI-IIS centre in Hisar (AFI X and Special Arrangement) 
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