Injuries and lack of practice blamed for missed gold at World Athletics U20 Championships, say Indian athletes
Ashish Yadav, Basant Kumar Meghwal and Shahnavaz Khan said injuries and limited practice cost them gold at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Oregon, USA, speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. India returned from Oregon with three individual medals last week, but the medallists described their podium finishes as missed opportunities.
The three medallists were Ashish Yadav (silver, men’s javelin), Basant Meghwal (silver, men’s high jump) and Shahnavaz Khan (bronze, men’s long jump). Ashish’s throw measured 74.09m, Basant cleared 2.21m, and Shahnavaz’s best was 7.84m; the athletes gathered in New Delhi to reflect on their performances. The press conference followed their return from the World Athletics U20 Championships and was held on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026.
Ashish Yadav said he felt pleased to win a medal but attributed a below-par series to injury and lack of practice after a period of rehabilitation, telling reporters, "I felt very good, sir. We have won a medal for our country at the World Championships. It felt very good. My personal best was 74.49 metres, and I threw just a little…" He added: "My throwing on ground had completely stopped before the competition. I was in rehab, recovering from a knee and hamstring injury and went straight into competition and could not do as well as I had hoped." The article noted that "even matching his personal best of 79m would have still kept him in second spot," and Ashish said this was only his second international competition after a disappointing Asian Under-20 Championships in May where he had failed to cross 70m and placed fifth.
Basant Meghwal, who finished behind Younes Ayachi of Algeria on countback, said he matched his personal best but missed gold because of the timing of his clearances; he cleared 2.21m in his second attempt. He explained: "I was thinking about gold only but it didn’t happen. I am happy I matched my personal best but if I had done so in my first attempt, I could have got gold. I even tried going for 2.24m but the previous attempt took a lot of effort and my ankle had started paining."
Shahnavaz Khan, the bronze medallist in the long jump, said cramps after his third jump curtailed his usual late improvement; his third jump was his best at 7.84m. The report states that Shahnavaz "has already qualified for the Asian Games," and he said: "My best normally is in the last three jumps only but I was unable to push harder because of cramps. But I am confident of recovering well in time for Asian Games," he insisted.
For the three medallists, the common themes at the New Delhi media interaction were frustration at what they described as narrowly lost golds and candid accounts of physical setbacks and interrupted preparation. Each athlete framed the podium finish within those constraints rather than celebrating it as an unqualified success.
Shahnavaz’s confirmed qualification for the Asian Games was the concrete next step reported, and he reiterated confidence about recovery in time for that event: "But I am confident of recovering well in time for Asian Games," he said.
