Last year, a video on the social media platform ‘X’ went viral, which featured 16-year-old javelin athlete Rohan Yadav taking massive strides and launching a whopping 69-meter throw during a training routine.
Cut to September 2024, at the fourth South Asian Athletics Championships in Chennai, Rohan registered a throw of just over the 69m (69.22m) mark to assure himself of a men’s javelin gold medal.
However, he looked visibly upset after each throw, indicating that he hadn’t showcased his full potential. Perhaps that was what he wanted to convey, as his personal best was a tad bit higher than what he was able to pull off here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Rohan achieved his personal best in April this year with a throw of 70.03m at the Asian under-20 athletics championships, where he clinched silver in Dubai.
The teenager repented the tight schedule leading up to the competition, which restricted his training time.
“I came home after taking part in the World Athletics Championships in Peru (last month) and fell sick. I couldn’t practice for 15–17 days, so my confidence was low. But the coach, support staff, and my family gave me a lot of confidence. That motivated me a lot and helped me do what I did,” he said.
Rohan’s medal is one of India’s 21 gold medals at the event, which finished top of the leaderboard with 48 medals overall. Sri Lanka came second with 35 medals while Bangladesh secured three to end up third.
Rohan did not have to look for inspiration outside his family when he took up the sport during the testing lockdown period, back in 2020. His elder brother, Rohit Yadav, is a well-known commodity in the javelin fraternity. Rohit reached the final of the World Athletics Championships in Oregon in 2022 and also qualified for last year’s competition but had to withdraw due to an injury.
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The 18-year-old Rohan credits his brother for his rapid rise through the ranks in such a short period. “My brother had difficulties; I, on the other hand, got a lot of support from my family. Whatever equipment was needed, we got it super fast. We started practising with bamboo sticks, my brother particularly, but I didn’t face many difficulties. I want to give something back to them and my country,” he said.
“The AFI has also helped me immensely, and that’s one of the major reasons I was able to progress faster,” he added.
Touted as the “Next Neeraj Chopra” by netizens, Rohan has been under a constant cloud of popularity across social media. Amid all the virtual vehemence, he tries to remain modest. “People can say whatever they want; I don’t pay much attention to that. I just want to take those compliments as fuel to perform well in the future, and I hope I can continue to do that,” he said.
Rohan also feels that since the advent of Neeraj on the world stage, the infrastructure has gotten a lot better back in his hometown of Jaunpur, a village in Uttar Pradesh. By finding constant success in the recent past, he was able to get placed at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala, where he currently trains.
“When I started practising initially, there weren’t that many facilities that were easily accessible. Since Neeraj bhaiya is doing well at the Olympics, Asian Games and Diamond League, it has improved a lot and that motivates athletes like me. It makes us believe we can also do something like that,” said Rohan.
Although Rohan’s main objective for now would be to learn how to handle the pressure that comes with fame, his long-term goal is to win an Olympic medal.
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