Eugene [US], August 8 : India's Ashish Yadav won the silver medal in the men's javelin throw at the World Athletics U20 Championships here, becoming only the second Indian after Neeraj Chopra to finish on the podium in the event at the global junior championships.
According to Olympics.com, the 19-year-old produced a best throw of 74.09m to finish behind South Africa's Jan-Hendrik Heymans, who clinched the gold with a world U20-leading effort of 80.50m. Dominica's Addison James won the bronze medal with 73.89m.
Ashish's achievement came a decade after Chopra became the first Indian to win a javelin medal at the World U20 Championships when he claimed gold at Bydgoszcz in 2016 with a world U20 record of 86.48m.
Ashish began the final with a throw of 69.96m and fouled his second attempt before producing his best effort of 74.09m on the third. He followed it with throws of 72.31m, 70.62m and 67.98m to secure the silver.
Heymans established an early lead with 76.92m on his opening attempt and improved to 79.42m on his fifth throw before sealing the title with an 80.50m effort in his final attempt.
Ashish had entered the final with a personal best of 74.49m, recorded at the Indian Open Throws Competition in Patiala earlier this year.
India had two competitors in the javelin final, with T. Dharanidharan finishing sixth with a best throw of 72.35m.
Both Indian throwers had progressed to the final after qualifying on the opening day of the championships. Although neither achieved the automatic qualification mark of 72.50m, Ashish advanced as the second-best thrower overall with 69.87m, while Dharanidharan secured the 12th and final qualifying spot with 68.07m.
Heymans topped the qualifying round with 76.02m. The Indian contingent comprises 36 athletes, including 23 men and 13 women, at the championships in Eugene.
Mohammed Ashfaq was another notable Indian performer, finishing eighth in the men's 400m final in 46.20 seconds. Earlier in the competition, the 19-year-old clocked 45.81 seconds in the heats to break his own U20 national record and qualify for the semifinals.
More than 1,800 athletes representing 147 member federations are competing at the World Athletics U20 Championships, which is the largest edition of the junior global event.