Yash Vir Singh and Rohit Yadav win silver and bronze as Sri Lankan Rumesh takes gold

India’s Yash Vir Singh and Rohit Yadav took silver and bronze respectively as world No. 1 Rumesh Tharanga won the men’s javelin throw gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Monday.

Rumesh Tharanga’s winning throw measured 88.55m. Yash Vir Singh produced a personal best of 85.72m, while Rohit Yadav registered 84.35m to land on the podium.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the reigning Olympic champion and Asian record holder, finished fourth with 80.29m. The result means India have now won two medals in men’s javelin throw at the Asian Games for the second straight edition.

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At Hangzhou 2023, Neeraj Chopra won gold with 88.88m while Kishore Jena took silver with 87.54m to complete an Indian one-two. Neeraj, who also won the gold at Jakarta 2018, didn’t defend his title in Japan due to an injury.

Yash Vir Singh took the early lead with 83.56m before Rohit Yadav produced 84.35m in the third round to move to the top, placing the two Indians at the top of the standings at the halfway stage.

Rumesh Tharanga’s winning throw measured 88.55m. Pics: X

Rumesh Tharanga, however, turned the contest on its head in the fourth round. After throws of 73.53m, 83.34m and a foul, the Sri Lankan launched the javelin to 88.33m to surge into a commanding lead. He then improved his mark to 88.55m on the final attempt.

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Yash Vir Singh responded with 84.31m in the fourth round before improving it again to 85.14m with his fifth attempt to leapfrog Rohit Yadav into the silver-medal position. He logged his personal best of 85.72 on his sixth and final attempt.

Yash Vir extends fine run of form

Yash Vir Singh extended his fine run of form on the international stage.  The Indian had won bronze at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow with his previous personal best of 85.41m. Rumesh Tharanga also won gold there while Neeraj took silver.

Rohit Yadav had arrived in Japan after setting a personal best of 87.68m in Bhubaneswar in August. It was the second-best season mark among the 14 athletes entered, behind only Rumesh Tharanga.

Rumesh Tharanga entered the competition as the standout men’s javelin thrower of 2026. The 23-year-old Sri Lankan set a national record and world-leading 92.62m in Rome in June, threw 92.07m in Zurich and won the World Athletics Ultimate Championship earlier this month with 91.09m.

Arshad Nadeem, meanwhile, opened with 76.69m before improving to 80.29m in the third round. He fouled his second, fourth, fifth and sixth attempts and remained outside the medal positions.