Amid Neeraj Chopra’s injury crisis, 2 Indian javelin stars qualify for Commonwealth Games

While doubts persist over Neeraj Chopra’s participation in the 2026 Commonwealth Games, two Indian javelin throwers have breached the qualification mark set for the competition. Rohit Yadav and Yashvir Singh qualified for the Games with career best throws of 83.76m and 82.93m respectively on Saturday 13 June.

Their efforts were enough to break the CWG 2026 qualification mark of 82.61m set by the Athletics Federation of India. Rohit and Yashvir achieved this feat in what was actually the last chance to qualify this season. The governing body initially kept the Federation Cup in May as the cut-off for CWG selection, but after no athlete managed to clear the mark in heavy wind conditions, one more competition was added in the Ludhiana section of the Indian Athletics Series. File photo of Rohit Yadav. (Photo: Instagram)

Rohit and Yashvir’s qualification came as a huge relief to the officials after World Cup finalist Sachin Yadav was forced to miss the event due to an elbow injury. He is now likely to miss the trip to Glasgow.

Yadav, who finished fourth at the World Championships in Tokyo last year, also fell short of the CWG qualification mark of 82.61m set by the AFI. His best effort this season remains 81.95m, which he recorded at the Indian Athletics Series 3 in New Delhi in April.

The 26-year-old has had a tough season. He finished fifth at the Federation Cup with a throw of 79.07m before finishing eighth with 79.18m on his Diamond League debut in Rome on June 4, well below his personal best of 86.27m.

India remains one of the strongest javelin nations in the world. Since Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in Tokyo, the sport has seen massive growth across the country. However, Indian throwers have recently struggled with the rise of a new force in the competition, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, who threw a career-best 92.62m at the Rome Diamond League.

NEERAJ CHOPRA’S CWG PARTICIPATION IN DOUBTS

Meanwhile, India’s star javelin player Neeraj Chopra will miss the Doha Diamond League on June 19 as he is still recovering from a back injury in Switzerland.

Chopra, who won gold and silver medals at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, opened his Diamond League campaign last year in Doha, breaking the 90m mark.

The 28-year-old from Haryana is currently in Bienne, Switzerland for a 47-day off-season training camp along with long-time physio Ishaan Marwa and coach Jai Choudhary ahead of this year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

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Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

13 Jun 2026 22:08 IST