Archive · 12 Aug 2026
India's U20 javelin silver medallist Ashish Yadav still jobless
Ashish Yadav is a 19-year-old boy from a small village in Mirzapur, India.
He used to help his father sell milk to earn money for the family.
Ashish throws the javelin, a long spear used in athletics.
He moved to a special training centre in Hisar to practise with a coach named Arvind Kumar.
There he learned proper technique, ate healthy food, and got stronger, growing from 68 kilograms to 85.
His throws improved by nearly 20 metres.
He won a silver medal at the World Under-20 Championships, a big competition for young athletes.
Before that competition he hurt his knee, so he could not throw his best.
Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra congratulated him.
Ashish still hopes to find a job to support his family and wants to throw even farther in the future.
Ashish Yadav, 19, won a silver medal in javelin at the World Under-20 Championships, becoming the second Indian after Neeraj Chopra to win a U-20 javelin silver.
Yadav is still searching for a job and says the financial situation at home has not improved, having earlier helped his father sell milk in their village in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh.
His throw improved by nearly 20 metres after he moved to the IIS-SAI Centre in Hisar in April 2025 to train under coach Arvind Kumar.
A Posterolateral Corner (PLC) knee injury hampered his World U-20 preparations, and his ground best of 79m could not be covered because of the injury.
Neeraj Chopra congratulated Yadav on social media, while Yadav aims to cross the 80m mark within a year or two.
- Who
- Ashish Yadav, a 19-year-old javelin thrower from Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, who trains under coach Arvind Kumar at the IIS-SAI Centre in Hisar.
- What
- Won a silver medal in javelin at the World Under-20 Championships, becoming the second Indian after Neeraj Chopra to win a U-20 javelin silver.
- When
- Reported on August 12; the medal came about 15 months after Yadav moved to Hisar in April 2025.
- Where
- Yadav trained at the IIS-SAI Centre in Hisar and comes from a village in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh; the World U-20 location is not stated in the articles.
- Why
- He wants to win medals for the country and, in the process, secure a job to support his family, whose financial situation has not improved.
- Athlete
- Ashish Yadav, 19
- Achievement
- Silver medal, World Under-20 Championships (javelin)
- Home
- Village in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh
- Training centre
- IIS-SAI Centre, Hisar (since April 2025)
- Coach
- Arvind Kumar
- Throw improvement
- Nearly 20 metres since April 2025
- Physical change
- Weight increased from 68kg to 85kg
- Goal
- Cross 80m in a year or two
