Who after Neeraj Chopra? Top five exciting Indian prospects to cross 80m mark in javelin throw

This list only takes into consideration athletes who have breached the barrier since the start of 2022.

Indian Javelin is on an upsurge for the past year. Five Javelin throwers since the start of 2022, have breached the 80m mark (apart from Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra). Kishore Kumar Jena speared his Personal Best mark of 81.05m at the Indian Grand Prix I and is the latest entrant to the elusive 80m club. The other athletes to achieve the feat in the past year are Vikrant Malik, Yashvir Singh, Rohit Yadav, and DP Manu). 

5. Kishore Kumar Jena (81.05m)

27-year-old from Odisha Kishore Kumar Jena has started the 2023 season on a confident note creating two personal best performances. He won the gold medal at the National Open Throws Open (78.93m) and inside two weeks, eclipsed the 80m mark spearing the Javelin to 81.05m. He defeated tournament favourite Manu DP to claim the top spot at the 2023 Indian Grand Prix I, LNCPE, Trivandrum. Kishore was consistently hitting the 75m mark and finished the 2022 season with 78.05m at the National Open Athletics Championships in Bengaluru. 

4. Vikrant Malik (81.89m)

Vikrant Malik speared the Javelin to 81.89m at the NorthEast University Games held in Bhubaneshwar. The 26-year-old with his personal best performance, progressed through to the 82nd All India University Meet in Chennai. Vikrant Malik managed a throw of 77.25m at the Intwer University Meet to bag the top spot. Vikrant had a decent 2022 season and was constantly crossing the 70m mark. He now needs to show consistency at the National meets this season.

3. Yashvir Singh (82.13m)

Yashvir Singh from Rajasthan breached the 80m mark at the Indian Javelin Grand Prix Open last year and claimed the top spot (82.13m). The 22-year-old crossed the 75m mark four times in 2021 but could only take part in three events last year. Apart from his personal best throw of 82.13m, Yashvir managed 69.38m,77.76m, and 78.62m in 2022. He is yet to open his account this season, having not taken part in the National Throws and Indian Grand Prix I.

2. DP Manu (84.35m)

The 23-year-old from Karnataka is in red hot form, having breached the 80m mark six times since the start of 2022. DP Manu first crossed 80m during the 2022 Indian Grand Prix, Thiruvananthapuram. He put in a career-best performance at the Inter-State Athletic Championships spearing the Javelin to 84.35m. This helped him to qualify for the Commonwealth Games and finished a credible fifth.

Manu claimed the second spot managing a throw of 80.61m at the 2023 Indian Grand Prix I.

Top Throws since 2022

1. National Inter-State Athletic Championships (84.35m)

2. Indian Grand Prix, 2022 (82.43)

3. Commonwealth Games (82.28m)

4. National Open Athletic Championships (81.23m)

5. National Games, Gujarat (80.71m)

6. Indian Grand Prix I, 2023 (80.61m) 

1. Rohit Yadav (82.54m)

Like Manu DP, Rohit Yadav put up a career-best performance at the 2022 National Interstate Athletic Championships managing a throw of 82.54m and finished in the second spot behind Manu DP. Rohit qualified for the World Athletics Championships and finished in the tenth spot (78.72m). He breached the 80m mark in the qualifiers but couldn't replicate the same performance in the final. The 22-year-old finished sixth (82.22m) behind Manu DP at the Commonwealth Games.

Overall Rohit Yadav had a credible 2022 season participating in Commonwealth Games and the World Athletic Championships. He also breached the 80m mark six times in 2022. Rohit was practicing alongside Neeraj Chopra at Loughborough University in London at the start of 2023.