India’s javelin contingent eyes medals after impressive qualification display
Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra secured his place in the men’s javelin throw final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after finishing fifth in the qualification round on Friday. Joining him in the medal round are fellow Indians Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh, ensuring a full Indian contingent in the final.
Chopra recorded a season-best throw of 79.61 metres, comfortably advancing among the 12 finalists despite none of the competitors breaching the automatic qualification mark of 84.00 metres.
Neeraj conserves energy for final
The 28-year-old opened his campaign with a throw of 76.28m before improving to 79.61m on his second attempt.
Confident that the mark was enough to secure qualification, Chopra opted to skip his final attempt, choosing to conserve energy ahead of the medal round.
Sri Lanka’s Pathirage tops qualification
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage led the qualification standings with a best effort of 82.84m, followed by Grenada’s Anderson Peters (81.29m), South Africa’s Douw Smit (80.64m) and England’s Ben East (80.38m).
Chopra finished ahead of Australia’s Cameron McEntyre (78.91m) and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem (78.63m).
Clean sweep for India
India enjoyed an impressive qualification campaign as all three entrants booked their spots in the final.
Rohit Yadav qualified in ninth place with a throw of 78.37m, while Yash Vir Singh secured the 10th and final qualifying position after recording 78.36m.
With three Indians in the medal round, the country will look to mount a strong challenge for podium finishes when the men’s javelin final takes place in the early hours of August 1 (IST).
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