World Athletics Championships 2025: Neeraj Chopra falls short, Sachin Yadav finishes fourth in Men's Javelin Final

It was a tough day in the office for India's two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra as he finished eighth in the men's javelin final of the World Athletics Championships 2025 at the National Stadium Tokyo on Thursday, September 18.

Chopra, who entered the Championships as the reigning champion having clinched gold in Budapest in 2022, looked well off his best as he regularly fell over on his follow-through, registering a best of 84.03 meters on his second attempt. His first throw was recorded at 83.65 meters, placing him fifth at the end of the round before he slid to eighth after his second attempt.

Unable to better it on his third attempt, he stepped over the line intentionally with the throw not recorded against his name although he retained the eighth spot. That was enough to deem him eligible for the fourth attempt having finished in the top ten, but his task got tougher with a throw of 82.86 meters.

Still eighth in the standings, Chopra, who took a solitary throw to qualify for the final, had to go big on his fifth attempt but committed a foul, which eliminated him from the race for a medal with only the top six qualifying for the sixth throw.

A visibly frustrated Chopra removed the brace over his lower back and trudged off disappointed, finishing outside the podium for the first time in seven years. Incidentally, it wasn't a good day for Chopra's rival and reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, who recorded a best of 82.75 meters and was eliminated after the fourth throw.

Sachin Yadav records personal best, but falls agonizingly short of a medal at World Athletics Championships 2025

There was better news for Chopra's countryman Sachin Yadav, who competed in his first World Athletics Championships final. Beginning with a throw of 86.27 meters, Yadav bettered his previous personal best of 85.16 meters to put himself in the hunt for a medal.

Sachin Yadav put up an impressive show in the men's javelin final of the World Athletics Championships 2025 - Source: Getty

A foul on the second attempt was followed by a throw of 85.71 meters on his third, and 84.90 meters on the fourth attempt. Yadav stayed consistently in the race to attain a podium finish but eventually fell short by 0.4 meters with Curtis Thompson of the United States of America taking home the bronze with a throw of 86.67 meters.

Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago recorded the two best throws of the night with his 88.16 meter throw on his fourth attempt sealing the gold medal. Grenada's Anderson Peters bagged the silver medal with a best throw of 87.38 meters. Julian Weber of Germany, who beat Chopra to the gold medal at the Diamond League in Zurich last month, came fifth with a best of 84.67 meters.

Edited by Sooryanarayanan Sesha