Prateek Tanmay
2 min readRanchiMay 25, 2026 10:57 PM IST
After three days of record-breaking action at the Federation Cup in Ranchi, the finale turned out to be a letdown, with the javelin throw event not living up to expectations.
Despite six throwers with personal bests of over 80m and the presence of Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Kumar Jena, World Championships finalist Sachin Yadav, and Rohit Yadav, the event was subdued, with youngster Shivam Lohakare winning the competition with a new personal best of 81.71m.
The major shock came when none of the throwers breached 82.61m, the Commonwealth Games benchmark. Shivam’s effort was the only positive in the competition as he threw four 80m+ throws while favourite Sachin (79.4m) failed to touch the 80m mark.
While Sachin tried multiple things to counter the wind, like throwing a flat throw and giving a lot of flight to the javelin, but nothing worked for him on the night. “An athlete can have an off day. I don’t think it would derail him. We will do better at the Inter-State,” his coach, Naval Singh, said.
“The wind was a little inconsistent today, but we can’t keep it as an excuse. I had prepared well for the event, but despite four 80m marks, I think I didn’t execute my plans well. I think I’m learning competition by competition,” Shivam said after the event.
With Neeraj Chopra not starting his season yet and none of the throwers breaching the CWG qualification mark, it puts the Athletics Federation of India in a fix.
CWG organisers have asked every country to send only a 32-member contingent for Athletics with 16 male and 16 female athletes. “Selection committee will meet tonight, and we will get to know. Javelin Throw is a prestigious event, and India has always done well there. It will be a shame if we don’t have anyone there,” an AFI official said on condition of anonymity.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
