Neeraj Chopra praises Indian U20 team after three-medal return from Oregon

On August 10, 2026, India javelin champion Neeraj Chopra paid tribute to the Indian athletes who competed at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon, applauding their performances at the event.

India returned from Oregon with three medals — two silvers and one bronze — matching the country's overall medal total from the 2021 and 2022 editions. Ashish Yadav opened the podium run with silver in the men's javelin, Basant Kumar Meghwal added silver in the high jump, and Shahnavaz Khan secured bronze in the men's long jump.

India's history at the U20 Worlds has been modest between 2002 and 2018, with only four medals across those editions. Seema Antil supplied the nation's first U20 medal with a silver in the women's discus throw in Jamaica in 2002, and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon later won bronze in the discus at the 2014 edition in the United States. Two of the four earlier medals were golds: Neeraj Chopra's men's javelin title in 2016 and Hima Das's women's 400m victory in 2018.

Neeraj took to X to acknowledge the U20 contingent's effort and experience on the same stage where he had competed. "Congratulations to the entire Indian contingent at the U-20 World Athletics Championships, who gave their best for the country and returned not just with medals, but so much of exposure and experience of competing with international athletes. Keep building on this momentum!" said Neeraj.

Neeraj returned to the podium at the Commonwealth Games 2026 with a silver medal, finishing behind Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage. The report noted that Pathirage "seems to be in red-hot form and will be a major contender for the gold medal at the Asian Games."

The 28-year-old will compete at the Lausanne Diamond League on August 21, a meeting the article described as serving as preparation for him for the Asian Games.