Ups Band Of Javelin Throwers Keeps Growing

Lucknow: Ashish Yadav’s silver medal at the just-ended U-20 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Anand’s Singh’s silver at the U23 Asian Championship in China and Rohit Yadav making it to the final of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as one of three Indians, finishing seventh. They are all part of Uttar Pradesh’s impressive javelin throw story.

Once limited to the occasional flashes of individual brilliance, the number of javelin throwers now being produced points to the ecosystem for the discipline in UP. And the exploits of Neeraj Chopra in the last decade has provided added incentive and inspiration to them.

The state can today point to seven athletes who have crossed the 80m mark — Vipin Kasana, Rajesh Bind, Shivpal Singh, Sachin Yadav, Rohit Yadav, Rishabh Nehra and Anand Singh. Ashish Yadav holds promise as well, the 19-year-old throwing 74.09m for his second place in Eugene. Only 19 Indians have gone past 80m and for one state to contribute a big share of that list signals talent and system.

“Neeraj Chopra’s supremacy changed the mindset,” says Rohit Yadav. His season-best of 87.05m came in June at the senior national inter-state meet in Bhubaneswar while his subdued effort in Glasgow still saw him throw 81.56m in testing conditions. Chopra took silver and young Yas Vir Singh, also from Haryana, claimed bronze.

Chopra, the double Olympic and world medallist, provided the vision — young athletes in UP saw what was possible, and they started chasing that standard with renewed seriousness. That cultural shift is backed by concrete changes on the ground. Coaching has improved, facilities are more accessible, and training approaches have modernised.

District hubs in eastern UP — Prayagraj, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi among them — have become the focus where traditional training is being blended with biomechanics, periodised strength work and sports science support.

The result is a broader base of athletes who are reaching competitive distances, not just isolated success. Veteran coach Rustam Khan, who trains in Gyanpur near Varanasi, points to depth as the next milestone. “We have many throwers who have already crossed 75m, a distance that places them competitively at national championships and suggests they are within reach of 80m with continued progression,” he said.

His academy’s numbers underline that point as out of some 200 athletes, 60–70 now specialise in javelin. The event was once niche, but now every second youngster seems to be drawn to the spear.

The consequences are visible at national meets. UP throwers are increasingly present on senior national podiums and are challenging traditional javelin strongholds. That competitive exposure accelerates learning as regular high-level domestic competition, combined with international opportunities like the world age-group championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games forges athletes who can then contend globally.

“If current trends hold, UP will not only keep producing national finalists but will increasingly supply India’s next crop of international medal contenders,” said Khan.

Sharad Deep is a versatile sports journalist, who loves writing on cricket and Olympic sport. He has played cricket at the university level and has been writing for Hindustan Times since 1997.