Rohit Yadav has been unable to sleep properly since returning from the Commonwealth Games. His 81.56m effort in the men’s javelin final saw him finish seventh among the 12 competitors in Glasgow.
Of the three Indians who reached the final, Rohit recorded the shortest throw. Neeraj Chopra and Yashvir Singh claimed silver and bronze respectively, with both athletes crossing the 85m mark.
Neeraj’s season-best throw of 85.83m at the time and Yashvir’s personal best of 85.41m were still significantly shorter than Rohit’s 87.05m effort produced shortly before the Commonwealth Games.
Rohit remains frustrated by his inability to replicate that performance when it mattered.
The 25-year-old from Dabhiya village in Machhlishahr bounced back just weeks later, producing a huge 87.68m throw at the Continental Tour silver meet in Bhubaneswar.
The distance moved Rohit to second place among Indian javelin throwers, behind only Neeraj Chopra. Yet even that achievement has not fully satisfied him.
“What is the point of throwing here? I need to throw big in bigger competitions, that is my goal,” Rohit Yadav told IndiaToday.in in an exclusive interview.
“I was really sad and irritated with my throw in Glasgow. I am not happy with this personal best as well,” he added.
Although he continues to reflect on his Commonwealth Games performance, Rohit’s Continental Tour showing earlier this month has established him as a serious medal contender for the 2026 Asian Games, which will be held in Japan next month.
With Neeraj Chopra ruled out after suffering a season-ending ankle injury, Rohit is now India’s leading hope for a javelin medal in what could be the country’s final such opportunity of 2026.
CAN ROHIT BECOME INDIA'S NEXT 90M THROWER?
A 90m throw remains one of javelin’s rarest achievements. Since the event made its Olympic debut in 1908, only 28 athletes have managed to cross the 90m barrier.
Germany leads the way in producing 90m throwers, with seven athletes having achieved the feat.
That makes Neeraj Chopra’s 90.23m throw in Doha particularly significant. He remains the first and only Indian athlete to cross the 90m mark.
The obvious question now is what happens after Neeraj eventually gets older or retires.
That is where Rohit could emerge as India’s next major javelin star. Having produced two throws beyond 87m in 2026, he has naturally become part of the conversation around the 90m barrier.
Can he get there?
His former coach Michael Musselmann, who worked with Rohit during the early stages of his career, believes the Indian possesses exceptional natural ability and an arm capable of generating enormous distances.
“He's a very impressive talent. He's not tall, not strong in terms of weightlifting, but naturally very strong and has an amazing arm,” Michael said from Peru, where he coaches athletes from around the world online.
“Rohit is a very natural thrower. I think it comes from cricket, or maybe he just had it in his system. He knew how to use his legs, his upper body, the rotation, and the follow-through, and he always had a good feel for the javelin.”
“I think he has 90 metres in his body.”
ROHIT YADAV'S JAVELIN JOURNEY
Rohit’s natural feel for javelin can be traced back to his childhood rather than an elite training facility. His journey began in 2012 when he was in Standard V.
His father, Sabhajee Yadav, a former state-level decathlete, once brought home a piece of bamboo that happened to resemble a javelin.
“I remember one day in the village when my dad (Sabhajee Yadav) brought home a bamboo stem. He was showing me how to throw it. When the stick fell, it didn't lie flat; it stuck into the ground and stood up. The 11-year-old kid in me was fascinated,” Rohit recalled.
“I took up javelin from there. I was training at home then, and I worked with Michael online after that,” he added.
Michael first became aware of Rohit in 2018.
“I knew that he had gone to compete at the Asian Youth Games. He finished with a medal and a throw of around 70 metres. I saw that he was a huge talent from a video someone sent me and offered to train him for free,” Michael said.
Michael coached Rohit for two years, during which the Indian broke the national youth record with an 81.75m throw. That record remains intact. He also became the world’s second-ranked U20 thrower after producing 78.99m.
However, Rohit’s transition from the junior level to senior competition was interrupted by injuries.
“The problem is that he got injured. He had elbow surgery, and with javelin throwers, you never know. Once you get an elbow injury, a second injury could be the end of your career,” Michael said.
Rohit’s elbow mechanics continue to play a major role in his technique.
He was regularly reaching the 83-84m range in 2023 and 2025, but believes a change in his elbow delivery has helped him add around four metres compared with last year.
“I don’t think that I used to put in my full power before. I was throwing more with my rhythm. But last year I realised that if I put in my effort as well as rhythm, I could go bigger,” Rohit said.
Michael believes the improvement has come from Rohit’s fast, dynamic run-up and powerful release.
“His run-up is very dynamic, very aggressive, probably running around 22 to 23 kilometres per hour,” Michael said. “Then you add the release speed to the javelin. If you want to throw far, the javelin has to fly at least 100 kilometres per hour. I'm sure he is above that.”
However, both Rohit and Michael acknowledge that there are still technical aspects that need improvement, particularly his front-leg block.
“If you check how Rumesh throws, his block is totally straight. When you see pictures of Rohit’s 87-metre throw, he was bending the leg,” Michael explained. “If you don't block straight, you lose energy or tend to pull the javelin down.”
Rohit agrees that the front-leg brace remains an issue.
“I for sure think that my front brace is not happening correctly. If I can solve that, I think I can better myself by 2 meters right away,” he said.
Michael believes Rohit has already reached around 90 per cent of his potential.
Neeraj Chopra was 27 when he crossed 90m, while Arshad Nadeem was also 27 when he produced his 92m-plus Olympic-record throw to win gold in Paris.
If that age represents the beginning of an athlete’s peak years, Rohit still has roughly two years to reach that stage, potentially putting him in the ideal window for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“I think he can be a medal contender in LA 2028, and this was part of my vision. When I met him in 2018 or 2019, I told him he would one day throw over 90. I really think that he can do that,” Michael said.
ROHIT'S ASIAN GAMES TEST
While Los Angeles 2028 remains a longer-term target, Rohit’s immediate attention is firmly on the Asian Games in Japan.
One of his biggest rivals will be Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, currently among the world’s leading javelin throwers and also one of Rohit’s closest friends on the circuit.
“I speak to him a lot during events. He is quite funny. I teach him Hindi, he tells me to learn Tamil. He has been coming to India for a while, and we meet up every time,” Rohit said with a laugh.
Rumesh also tried to help Rohit during the Commonwealth Games, advising him to throw flat and hard in Glasgow’s swirling conditions. A conversation between the two about training methods eventually contributed to an important breakthrough for Rohit.
“I asked Rumesh how he increased his power so much. He told me that he doesn't lift weights more than 60–65 kgs, and that he simply works on his rhythm and running speed,” Rohit revealed.
“What I changed after returning from CWG is that I reduced my weight by 20 per cent, and that gave me the biggest throw of my career.”
Rohit now wants to build on that progress.
For the moment, however, the 90m barrier can wait. His immediate priority is the Asian Games, where he will have the chance to turn his recent improvement into a major international medal.
His 87.68m throw in Bhubaneswar has elevated his position in Indian javelin. It made him the country’s second-best thrower behind Neeraj Chopra, placed him among the leading performers globally this season and brought him closer to a distance achieved by only the sport’s elite.
Yet Rohit is less interested in what the number means outside major competition.
He knows the throw came at a Continental Tour event rather than an Olympics, World Championships or Asian Games. That difference matters to him.
The disappointment of Glasgow, where he managed just 81.56m despite entering the Commonwealth Games with an 87.05m mark, is still fresh.
Perhaps that is what makes his pursuit of 90m particularly compelling. Rohit is not simply chasing the distance to add his name to a prestigious list. He wants to produce that kind of throw when the stakes are highest.
Michael Musselmann believed Rohit could achieve it when he was still a teenager. Six years later, Rohit is beginning to believe in that possibility himself.
