India draw blank at World Athletics Championships 2025, end medal-winning streak

India’s best finish in the competition was Sachin Yadav’s fourth-place in men’s javelin final.

India’s campaign at the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo concluded on Saturday (September 20) ending in disappointment, as the 19-member contingent returned home without a single medal.

After the heartbreaks of the last three days, India sole medal hope rested on Servin Sebastian in men’s 20km race walk. The 25-year-old, who had clinched bronze at the Asian Championships earlier this year with a personal best of 1:21:14s, finished 31st in Tokyo.

Servin clocked 1:23:03s, nearly five minutes slower than the gold medal performance of Brazil’s Caio Bonfim. The silver medal was grabbed by Wang Zhaozhao of China who took a time of 1:18:43. Meanwhile, Spain’s Paul McGrath won bronze with time of 1:18:45.

This marked the first time since 2022 that India failed to secure a medal at the World Championships. In the last two editions, Neeraj Chopra had kept India’s flag flying high winning silver in Oregon (2022) and a historic gold in Budapest (2023).

In Tokyo, however, the reigning champion could not extend his streak and finished eighth in the men’s javelin final with a best throw of 84.03m, his first time outside the top three at a global event since 2018.

Also Read: Five Neeraj Chopra streaks broken by his eighth-place finish at World Athletics Championships

The closest India came to a medal was through Sachin Yadav, who produced the performance of his career with a personal best throw of 86.26m. His effort was good enough for fourth place but agonizingly short of the bronze by just 40 centimetres.

Big Man. Big Throws. 💥Sachin Yadav smashes his Personal Best in Tokyo to finish 4th in the men's javelin throw final at World Athletics Championships 2025.A career-best performance on the world stage! 🌏🔥#WCHTokyo25 #Athletics pic.twitter.com/0oUshdqOkp

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) September 18, 2025

There was also a glimpse of promise from Sarvesh Kushare in the men’s high jump. After a strong season, he rose to the occasion on the world stage. He became the first Indian to reach the final of the event in history.

Kushare achieved his personal best of 2.28m but it was not enough to reach the podium, and he finished sixth in the final.

Sarvesh Anil Kushare, after an impressive season, rose to the occasion and delivered his best on the grandest stage.He finished in 6th place with his new Personal Best, clearing 2.28m in the Men’s High Jump final at @WATokyo25.#IndiainWCHTokyo #IndianAthletics #WCHTokyo25 pic.twitter.com/YEdiImlQ5l

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) September 18, 2025

On the other hand, the flagbearer of women’s javelin in India Annu Rani, endured a tough outing. She registered a best throw of 55.18m in the qualification round, which placed her 29th overall and well below the automatic qualifying mark of 62.50m.

For Indian athletics, Tokyo 2025 was a campaign of missed opportunities and painful near misses. Only three athletes managed to reach the finals, and none could cross the final hurdle to the podium. The 19-member Indian contingent included 14 men and 5 women athletes.

In the previous edition in Budapest, India sent a record 28 athletes and returned with a historic gold from Neeraj Chopra. Apart from him, the country’s only other World Championships medal still remains Anju Bobby George’s long jump bronze in Paris back in 2003.

Also Read: List of Indian medalists at World Athletics Championships

Also in Eugene 2022, the Indian contingent included 22 members where many of them made it to the finals. That year, Rohit Yadav joined Neeraj Chopra in the javelin finals, marking the first time two Indians competed in the men’s javelin throw final at the World Championships. But he finished 10th with a best throw of 78.72m.

This time also India created history in javelin by fielding four men’s javelin throwers at the World Championships for the very first time.

Chopra, as the defending champion, earned a wild card entry and was joined by Rohit Yadav, Yashvir Singh, and Sachin Yadav.

Rohit and Yashvir fell short in the qualification stage from Group B, unable to progress further. Meanwhile, Neeraj and Sachin qualified finishing fourth and 10th in the qualification.

Indian athletes who reached final at World Athletics Championships 2025

Sarvesh Kushare – Men’s Long Jump

Neeraj Chopra – Men’s Javelin Throw

Sachin Yadav – Men’s Javelin Throw

India’s results at World Athletics Championships 2025:

Men’s Results

High Jump

• Sarvesh Anil Kushare – 2.28 m, 6th place

Javelin Throw

• Sachin Yadav – 86.27 m, 4th place
• Neeraj Chopra – 84.03 m, 8th place
• Yash Vir Singh – 77.51 m, did not advance
• Rohit Yadav – 77.81 m, did not advance

Long Jump

• Murali Sreeshankar – 7.78 m, did not advance

Triple Jump

• Praveen Chithravel – 16.74 m, did not advance
• Abdulla Aboobacker – 16.33 m, did not advance

Sprints & Hurdles

• Animesh Kujur – 200 m, 20.77 s, did not advance
• Tejas Shirse – 110 m hurdles, 13.57 s, did not advance

Race Walk

• Servin Sebastian – 20 km, 1:23:03, 31st place
• Ram Baboo – 35 km, disqualified
• Sandeep Kumar – 35 km, 2:39:15, 23rd place

Long-Distance Running

• Gulveer Singh – 10,000 m, 29:13.33, 16th place

Women’s Results

Javelin Throw

• Annu Rani – did not qualify from qualification round

Middle-Distance Running

• Pooja Olla – 800 m, 2:01.03, did not advance
• Pooja Olla – 1500 m, 4:13.75, did not advance

Steeplechase

• Ankita Dhyani – 10:03.22, did not advance
• Parul Chaudhary – 9:22.24, did not advance

Race Walk

• Priyanka Goswami – 35 km, 3:05:58, 24th place

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