Ashish Yadav and T. Dharanidharan reach U20 javelin final at Oregon 26, keeping India's medal hopes alive

Ashish Yadav and T. Dharanidharan advanced to the men's javelin throw final at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 on Tuesday, preserving India's prospects for a podium finish.

The pair competed in separate qualification groups and neither cleared the automatic mark of 72.50m; qualification was decided by best performances after only one athlete achieved the standard. South Africa's Jan-Hendrick Heymans was the sole automatic qualifier, throwing 76.02m to top the standings and establish himself as the favourite for the gold medal.

Ashish produced the stronger mark among the Indians with a best of 69.87m, finishing second in Group A and second overall in the qualification phase. His mark placed him ahead of Poland's Aleksander Wojna (69.80m) and China's Yang Zhaoyi (69.43m), who qualified third and fourth respectively.

The competition proved tougher than expected, with only Heymans surpassing 72.50m and the remaining 11 final berths awarded on distance across both groups. Dominica's Addison James (68.87m) and South Africa's Marques Olivier (68.76m) also advanced from the qualifiers.

Dharanidharan reached the final with a best throw of 68.07m, finishing fifth in Group B and claiming the 12th and final qualifying spot. His result narrowly edged Great Britain's Charlie Mason, who placed 13th with 67.77m.

Both Indian athletes have recorded farther throws earlier this season: Ashish holds a personal and season best of 74.49m, while Dharanidharan's personal and season best is 73.42m, achieved at the Indian Athletics Series-9 in Ludhiana in June. The World Athletics U20 Championships has previous significance for India after Neeraj Chopra won gold in 2016 at Bydgoszcz with an 86.48m throw, breaking the five-year-old world U20 record and becoming India's first-ever gold medallist at the championships.

The men's javelin final is scheduled for August 7 at 8:15 AM, where Heymans will begin as the athlete to beat following his 76.02m qualification, and India will rely on Ashish and Dharanidharan reproducing their better season marks to mount a challenge for medals.