India's representation at the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo will be historic. This time, four Indian male javelin throwers will participate, which is a record for any country.
Sports News: India will have the highest number of male javelin throwers at the World Championships scheduled to be held in Tokyo next month. Led by Neeraj Chopra, four athletes from the country will compete in this event. This is a clear reflection of the impact of two-time Olympic medalist Chopra's outstanding performance on the global stage and the revolution in Indian javelin throw.
India announced a 19-member team on Sunday for the competition, which will be held from September 13 to 21. Besides Neeraj Chopra, Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh, and Rohit Yadav will also represent the country in the javelin throw event.
Four Indian Male Javelin Throwers
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) announced the 19-member team on Sunday. In the javelin throw event, Sachin Yadav, Yashvir Singh, and Rohit Yadav will represent India in Tokyo, alongside Neeraj Chopra. The special aspect is that a country is generally allowed to send only three athletes in this event. However, Chopra qualified through a wildcard, enabling India to enter the world stage with four athletes.
Neeraj Chopra recently surpassed the qualifying standard of 85.50 meters, while the other three athletes secured their spots for Tokyo through world rankings. Rohit Yadav received an invitation from World Athletics as athletes ranked above him withdrew.
Virtual Selection of India's Athletics Team
The final team selection was made after a meeting of the AFI's senior selection committee. The male members, in addition to Neeraj, Sachin, Yashvir, and Rohit, include Murali Sreeshankar (long jump), Gulveer Singh (5,000m and 10,000m), Praveen Chitravel and Abdulla Aboobacker (triple jump), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (high jump), Animesh Kujur (200m), Tejas Shirase (110m hurdles), Sarvin Sebastien (20km race walk), Ram Babu and Sandeep Kumar (35km race walk).
The women's team includes Parul Chaudhary and Ankita Dhyani (3000m steeplechase), Annu Rani (javelin throw), Priyanka Goswami (35km race walk), and Pooja (800m and 1500m).
Some Key Athletes Will Miss the Competition Due to Injury
Star 3000m steeplechase athlete Avinash Sable had qualified but will be unable to participate in the competition this time due to ACL surgery performed in July. Furthermore, Akshdeep Singh and Nandini Agasara could not be part of the team due to medical reasons. India had sent 28 athletes to the previous World Athletics Championships held in Hungary in 2023, including seven relay runners. This time, India could not qualify for any relay events.
Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at the 2023 Budapest Championships. In the last tournament, four Indian male javelin throwers had qualified, but Rohit Yadav was ruled out due to injury.
