Abhishek Mishra
At the National Athletics Senior Interstate Championship at JN Stadium in Chennai, Rohit Yadav, 24, produced a personal best throw of 83.65m to win the gold. The gold medal winning performance at the B-category meet earned him crucial points on the Road to Tokyo rankings and also raised hopes of his qualification for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
When World Athletics updated the rankings, Yadav saw himself at 37th place and missed qualification by just one spot, as only 36 slots were available in javelin at the Worlds. Luckily on the very next day, Spain announced its squad for the Worlds leaving out javelin thrower Manu Quijera who qualified through rankings but hadn’t met the Spanish federation’s standard of 82.70m and Rohit Yadav sneaked in as he was next best in the line. And it turned out to be historic for India as for the first time, India will field four javelin throwers at the World Championships.
“I’m very happy that finally I’ll compete at such a big level after injury,” Rohit told Revsportz over the phone. “After the gold at the Interstate Championship in Chennai I thought I’ll get a direct qualification through ranking points, but when I saw 37th position after the World Athletics ranking update, I thought it will be tough for me. But when I found out that a Spanish thrower is not going to participate and my name featured I got happy as I missed the after getting qualified at Budapest World Championship in 2023 due elbow injury,” the 24-year-old from Uttar Pradesh explained.
After his name was announced by the AFI on Sunday, Neeraj Chopra called him and motivated him. “Neeraj bhaiya encouraged me and said, ‘We’ll play together like we did in Eugene’. It feels good to have his support,” said Rohit.
Usually, only three athletes from a country can qualify in one discipline, but with Neeraj qualifying through a wild card as the reigning World Champion, all three slots were available for India. Sachin Yadav and Yashvir Singh qualified through ranking points, while Rohit Yadav got in through the invitation.
This is going to be the second World Championship for Rohit Yadav ,it could have been third outing but he missed Budapest World Championships due to injury ,the first he participated at the 2022 World Championship in Eugene, USA. Rohit recalled that it was a great experience and special moment.
“It was an amazing experience for me playing in such a big stadium and sharing the stage with Neeraj bhaiya and some of the best at the World Championships final. It was special. Neeraj bhaiya is among the world’s best and I learned so much from him. From technique to mindset, I also realised how much effort it takes at that big level,” said Rohit.
Rohit now feels he is fully fit and he is confident of achieving big on the biggest stage.
“During my comeback, I struggled with confidence and form. I struggled to cross 80m for a long time but when I managed an 84m throw at the World Continental Tour Bronze meet in Bhubaneswar, though it was ruled sector-out it gave me belief and huge confidence, which I carried into the Interstate. Now, I’m aiming for an 85+ throw at the World Championship. If I can achieve my personal best there that would be great for me.”
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