Indian athletes returned with three individual medals from the World Athletics Under-20 Championships last week. For the medalists, however, the outcome felt more like gold lost than silver or bronze gained.
Ashish Yadav, only the second Indian javelin thrower to claim a medal with a 74.09m silver throw, attributed his result to insufficient practice and injury. He explained that ground training had stopped before the event due to rehabilitation from knee and hamstring issues, forcing him directly into competition without reaching his expected level. Although matching his personal best of 79m would not have changed his placement, Yadav now aims to join the group of national throwers exceeding 80m. This was his second international meet after a disappointing Asian Under-20 Championships in May where he finished fifth.
Basant Meghwal also expressed disappointment after missing gold in the high jump on countback. He cleared 2.21m on his second attempt but finished behind the Algerian winner. Meghwal had focused solely on gold and noted that clearing his personal best earlier might have secured the top spot, though an ankle issue after attempting 2.24m limited further efforts.
Shahnavaz Khan, bronze medalist in the long jump who has already qualified for the Asian Games, cited cramping after his third and best jump of 7.84m. Normally strongest in later rounds, he could not push further due to the cramps yet remains confident of recovery before the Asian Games.
