The Athletics Federation of India selected Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Yashvir Singh to replace Neeraj Chopra
Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra was ruled out of his Asian Games title defence after sustaining a season-ending ankle ligament tear
Yashvir Singh will make his Asian Games debut alongside Rohit Yadav in India's men's javelin contingent in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
India’s men’s javelin line-up for the 2026 Asian Games has changed days before the event, with the Athletics Federation of India naming Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Yashvir Singh in place of the injured Neeraj Chopra in its 77-member track and field squad for Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. The switch follows Chopra’s ankle ligament tear, which ended his 2026 season and ruled him out of title defence.
Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist, had initially been included in the squad. But he will now miss the chance to defend the Asian Games gold medals he won at Jakarta in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2023. That leaves India’s javelin challenge resting on Rohit Yadav and Yashvir.
Who Is Yashvir?
Yashvir Singh Tanwar was born on October 22, 2001, in Devsar village near Bhiwani in Haryana. The region is better known for boxing, but his sporting roots were in javelin.
His father, Rai Singh, was a national-level javelin thrower, an Indian Railways champion and later a sports coach. That family background shaped Yashvir’s path into the event.
Javelin was not his first choice. He was first drawn to basketball and only moved to javelin during his school years, beginning with a bamboo javelin before shifting to standard equipment. His formal training started in 2015 under his father’s guidance.
How Did He Rise?
The rise was gradual. Yashvir won gold at the 2017 and 2018 U-18 nationals and then took silver at the 2019 junior nationals. That second-place finish earned him a place at the national training camp, where he trained alongside Chopra.
His breakthrough arrived in Bhopal. Competing at the 18th National Federation Cup Junior Athletics Championships in January 2021, the 19-year-old registered a 78.68m effort that eclipsed Chopra's previous tournament standard of 76.91m. Chopra phoned to congratulate him, telling him to “stay focussed” and that “this is only the start.” Yashvir later called his senior compatriot “the greatest javelin thrower in India.”
He kept building. In 2022, he crossed 80 metres for the first time with 82.13m. It was a key marker in moving from junior promise to senior-level relevance.
His 2025 season added weight to that progress. He won the Indian Open Athletics men’s javelin title in Chennai with 77.49m, finished fifth at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi with what was then a personal best of 82.57m, won the G. Arzumanov Memorial in Tashkent with 78.29m and placed eighth at the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru with 79.65m. Those results earned him qualification for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Why Is He Contending?
Glasgow changed the conversation. At the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Yashvir produced a personal-best 85.41m to win bronze. Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage took gold with 89.75m, while Chopra won silver with 85.83m.
That medal put him in rare company. Yashvir became only the third Indian man to win a Commonwealth Games javelin medal after Kashinath Naik, who won bronze in 2010, and Chopra, who took gold in 2018 and silver in 2026.
His form had shown up even before Glasgow. At the Indian Athletics Series event in Ludhiana, he finished runner-up to Rohit Yadav with 82.93m. The AFI made that logic clear. AFI president Bahadur Singh Sagoo said Yashvir was picked because he already had a Commonwealth Games medal, while Chopra’s injury forced changes to the final squad. Yashvir will now make his Asian Games debut alongside Rohit, who qualified with an 87.05m throw at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in June.
Rohit’s 87.05m and Yashvir’s Commonwealth bronze mean India still carry depth in men’s javelin. The call-up also marks a possible shift in Indian javelin, with Yashvir and Rohit entering the Games as athletes who have shown they can deliver under pressure.
