Asian Games 2026: How Yashvir, Rohit Stunned Field Before Sri Lanka's Pathirage Won Javelin Gold?

Without Neeraj Chopra, Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav won silver and bronze in the javelin at the Asian Games 2026. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage took gold with a late throw, while India's athletics team continued to boost the medal tally in Japan.

Indian javelin throwers, Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav, secured impressive podium finishes at the Asian Games 2026, claiming silver and bronze respectively in a thrilling men's javelin final on Monday, September 28.

Yashvir Singh clinched a silver medal on his Asian Games debut with his best throw of 85.72, while Rohit Yadav secured a third-place finish on the podium with a throw of 84.35. Sri Lanka javelin throw star Rumesh Pathirage took home the gold medal on his debut at the Asian Games with a stunning throw of 88.55 meters.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem finished fourth with a season-best throw of 80.29 meters, unable to break into the podium places on a dramatic night of track and field. A total of four javelin throwers managed to cross the 80-metre mark in the men’s final, with Japan's Yuta Sakiyama rounding out the top performers by clearing the barrier in a fiercely contested medal event.

Pathirage Faces Fierce Battle From Indian Javelin Throw Duo

As Neeraj Chopra was ruled out of the Asian Games 2026 and the remainder of the season, the onus of getting medals for India in javelin throw fell on Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav to step up, and the young duo delivered brilliantly with a double-podium finish. Yashvir was Neeraj’s replacement at the quadrennial multi-sport continental event in Japan.

However, the Indian javelin throw duo displayed immense composure right from the start. Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav kept themselves firmly in medal contention throughout the competition. After Yashvir took an early lead with a throw of 83.56m, Rohit moved to the top of the standings with 84.35m in the second round, holding onto first place.

Yashvir regained his lead with an 84.31m throw in his fourth attempt, before improving further to 85.14m in the fifth round, before Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage saved his best throw of 88.55 meters to clinch the gold medal in a thrilling final. The Sri Lankan star, who recently won the Commonwealth Games, World Ultimate Athletics Championships, and Diamond League, swept aside the competition with a phenomenal late surge.

DOUBLE PODIUM FOR INDIA IN JAVELIN! 🇮🇳

Yashvir Singh comes up with a Personal Best of 85.72m to win 🥈, while Rohit Yadav throws 84.35m to take 🥉.

🥈 Yashvir Singh - 85.72m PB
🥉 Rohit Yadav - 84.35m

TWO INDIANS & TWO MEDALS FOR INDIA! pic.twitter.com/5SSsE3aKZj

— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) September 28, 2026

Yashvir Singh gave Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage a bit of the scare in the men's javelin throw. He was in the lead after three throws before Pathirage finally got the job done winning with 88.55m But a big personal best of 85.71m for Yashvir which is good enough for…

— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) September 28, 2026

Neeraj Chopra’s absence at the Asian Games 2026 due to the ankle ligament tear could have cast a heavy shadow of doubt over India's defence of their javelin crown, but the historic double-podium effort by Yashvir Singh and Rohit Yadav emphatically demonstrated that the country's future in the discipline is in safe hands.

Yashvir and Rohit clinched their maiden Asian Games medals in Japan, underlining India’s growing depth in men’s javelin throw and delivering a memorable double-podium finish in the absence of Neeraj Chopra.

How Did the Indian Athletics Contingent Perform at the Asian Games 2026?

India has sent 495 athletes across 36 sports to Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, and the athletics contingent has 79 athletes, the most among all sports disciplines. After shooting, the athletics squad was contributing significantly to India’s medal tally.

Out of the 45 medals won by India so far at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, the athletics contingent has contributed 19 medals, including nine silver and 10 bronze, followed by shooting with 12 medals, making athletics India’s highest medal-contributing discipline at the Games so far.

On Sunday, the athletics team won seven medals, and on Monday, the contingent added six more medals to its tally, taking its overall medal count to 19 at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026. With nearly 50 medals, India is currently in 12th position on the medal tally, with China (230), Japan (172), and South Korea (90) dominating the top three spots of the overall medal standings.

India will be hoping for the men’s and women’s hockey teams, wrestling contingent, and Rugby sevens to add more medals to their tally, as the nation looks to climb higher in the overall medal standings during the remaining days of the competition.