World U20 Athletics: Ashish Yadav wins silver in Javelin; Pooja Singh advances

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Ashish Yadav opened India’s medal tally at the World Athletics U20 Championships by claiming silver in the men’s javelin throw, while high jumper Pooja Singh secured her place in the women’s final.

Yadav achieved his silver-medal effort with a third-round throw of 74.09m. Fellow Indian competitor T Dharanidharan finished sixth with a distance of 72.35m. Yadav’s throw fell just 40cm shy of his personal record of 74.49m, which he set at the Indian Open Throws Competition in Patiala in March.

The 19-year-old is now only the second Indian athlete after Neeraj Chopra to earn a medal in this event at the World U20 level. Chopra secured gold in 2016 in Bydgoszcz, Poland, with a junior world record of 86.48m.

South Africa’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans grabbed the gold with an 80.50m mark on his final throw, establishing a new U20 world lead for the season. Addison James of Dominica earned the bronze medal with a top throw of 73.89m.

Indian field and track athletes advance to finals

National senior record holder Pooja Singh successfully booked her spot in the women’s high jump final after clearing 1.79m on the third day of competition. All 14 high jumpers who cleared the 1.79m mark across both qualification groups advanced to the final round. The 19-year-old holds the senior national mark of 1.93m.

In the men’s long jump, Shahnavaz Khan and Jithin Arjuna both progressed to the final. Shahnavaz finished fourth in qualification Group A and fifth overall with a 7.73m jump in his third and final attempt. Jithin also advanced, finishing 12th overall and taking the last available spot, with his 7.57m jump in his third and final attempt. Italy’s Daniele Inzoli stood as the sole athlete to beat the automatic qualification threshold, landing an 8.15m jump.

On the track, Mohommed Ashfaq, who set a new national U20 record of 45.81 seconds in the 400m heats, finished eighth in the final with a time of 46.20 seconds. American Jayden Deleon won the gold with a championship record time of 44.47 seconds, while compatriot Quincy Wilson took the silver with 44.62 seconds.

(With inputs from PTI)

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