Neeraj Chopra, Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh Reach Commonwealth Games Javelin Final

Glasgow: Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, along with fellow Indians Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh, booked their places in the men's javelin throw final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Thursday after progressing from the qualification round held in difficult windy conditions.

With strong winds affecting performances, none of the competitors managed to achieve the automatic qualification mark of 84.00 metres. Instead, the top 12 athletes based on their best throws advanced to Friday's final, with all three Indians making the cut.

Returning to the Commonwealth Games after missing the 2022 Birmingham edition because of injury, Neeraj secured qualification with a best throw of 79.61m on his second attempt. Confident of progressing, he skipped his final throw and finished fifth overall in the qualifiers.

Rohit Yadav also chose not to use his final attempt after recording 78.37m, placing ninth, while Yash Vir Singh followed closely in 10th with a best effort of 78.36m.

Neeraj has been managing a lower back injury since September 2025. The Olympic and world champion suffered the problem just before last year's World Athletics Championships, where he finished eighth. His recovery delayed the start of his 2026 season, and before the Commonwealth Games he had competed only once, finishing fourth at the Doha Diamond League in June with a throw of 85.69m.

Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage, who leads the world this season with 92.62m, topped the qualification standings with 82.84m. Grenada's two-time world champion Anderson Peters secured second place with 81.29m, while South Africa's Douw Smit finished third with 80.64m.

England's Ben East claimed fourth place with 80.38m, ahead of Neeraj, while Australia's Cameron McEntyre finished sixth with 78.91m. Pakistan's reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem recorded a season-best throw of 78.63m to qualify in seventh place.

Also advancing to the final were the Bahamas' Keyshawn Strachan, Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott, and Nigeria's Chinecherem Nnamdi. The men's javelin final is scheduled for Friday.

With inputs from IANS

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