Before moving to Hisar last year to pursue his javelin career, Ashish Yadav helped his father sell milk in their village in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. Fifteen months later, the 19-year-old is a World Under-20 silver medallist and is still looking for a job to support his family.
Ashish moved to the IIS-SAI Centre in Hisar in April 2025 to train under coach Arvind Kumar. Since then, his throw has improved by nearly 20 metres.
At the U-20 global showpiece, he became the second Indian, after two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, to win a javelin silver. Chopra had won gold and set the still-standing world junior record of 86.48m in the 2016 edition in Poland.
While Ashish’s sporting fortunes have changed, the financial situation at home has not.
“My father is a milkman, he sells milk at our village in Mirzapur. My father has six brothers, three soldiers and three farmers. I feel bad when my father sells milk,” Ashish told PTI in an interaction facilitated by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
“I am searching for job, but not getting yet. I will train well and work hard in Hisar to win medals for the country (to get a job in the process). The financial situation at home is just the same, not improving, since I am not getting any job.”
Ashish’s improved performance was made possible by systematic and scientific training. He started his official competitions only after working with coach Arvind in Hisar.
Before that, he was taking part in village and district level meets. Initially, he began with wooden javelins provided by a relative at his village.
“When I went to Arvind sir, there are 60m throwers with him, but my aim was to do 70m. In six months with coach Arvind, I increased my distance by 20m. I came without any technique. He taught me technique, worked on my muscles and made me bulkier.
“When I came, it was 68kg but now I weigh 85kg. It was due to good nutrition and there is a good nutritionist at the center in Hisar. When I was at my village, I did not know anything about diet and building muscles, I ate whatever was available.
“But now, there is check ups every three months, measurement of muscle mass.”
Ashish wants to meet Neeraj Chopra soon
Ashish was inspired by Chopra, who congratulated the youngster on his achievement.
“Always a great feeling to see Indian athletes competing and winning at the International level, this one is a little more special for me as a javelin thrower. Super proud of you Ashish on your Silver at the U-20 Worlds, this is just the start!” Chopra said on his social media handles.
In turn, Ashish expressed his desire to meet the Indian javelin superstar.
“I have not met him. How can I meet him so soon?” said Ashish.
“But I don’t want myself to be compared with him, I can’t do that. Instead, I want to work hard. In our village, there is nobody who does javelin. I hope people in my village know the sport and start playing.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Read Desk. It is published from a syndicated feed.)