Neeraj Chopra drops to third; Sachin Yadav climbs to career-best position in latest men's javelin throw rankings

Sachin Yadav finished fourth at the World Athletics Championships 2025.

Indian sports have witnessed a sudden rise in men’s javelin. Infact, it was the nation’s most promising medal hope at major athletics events. Now, there is yet another reason to celebrate javelin as a mainstream sport in India.

Neeraj Chopra continues to reign as the nation’s most reliable star in men’s javelin, currently ranked third in the world. Adding to India’s rising talent, Sachin Yadav has made his mark by joining the elite list of the world’s top 10 javelin throwers.

At his debut World Championships, Sachin qualified for the finals and finished fourth with a 86.26m of best throw. He just narrowly missed out on a bronze medal. But, his performance has propelled him to seventh in the global rankings.

Before Tokyo, Chopra was ranked second in the world after finishing second at the Diamond League final in Zurich. However, an eighth-place finish at the World Championships, with a best throw of 84.03m, caused him to slip one spot.

Also Read: India’s best moments at World Athletics Championships 2025

Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott is ranked second in the world men’s javelin ranking ahead of Germany’s Julian Weber.

Walcott replaced Neeraj in the standings after he clinched gold in Tokyo with a season-best throw of 88.16m on September 18, marking his first World Championship title, 13 years after his Olympic gold in London 2012.

For Neeraj Chopra, it was his first time in seven years finishing outside the podium. Since his first Olympic medal, a gold, at the Tokyo Olympics 2021, he had never finished beyond second place in any javelin event.

This also broke his streak of World Championship medals, having won gold at the 2023 Championships in Hungary and silver in 2022 in the USA.

Unfortunately, no one in the Indian contingent of 19 members won a medal this time at the World Championships 2025.

Meanwhile, speaking of India’s rise in the spot, for the first time they sent four javelin throwers to the World Championships. Apart from Chopra and Sachin, Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav also competed, though both failed to qualify for the finals.

As of now, Yashvir is ranked 33rd in the world, while Rohit is world no.40. Meaning, India have four javelin throwers in top 50.

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