Indian trio of Sachin Yadav, Rohit Yadav, Sahil Silwal named for NC Classic

India's rising javelin stars Sachin Yadav, Rohit Yadav and Sahil Silwal are set for a once-in-a-lifetime experience of competing with double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and some of the best in the world as they have been added to the roster for the NC Classic to be held in Bengaluru on May 24. The prestigious javelin competition, which has been given A category status by World Athletics, will thus have four Indians, including Chopra, who is hosting the event.

Chopra had already announced seven foreign athletes, which means that the event will have 11 competitors. India, here’s your homegrown contingent for the #NCClassic2025! The full list of confirmed Indian javelin throwers for the inaugural edition of the #NeerajChopraClassic is out!" said a post on the 'X' handle of the event, along with the three Indian names and their pictures.

The 25-year-old Sachin has a personal best of 84.39m, and he has recently won gold in the Federation Cup in Kochi as well as in the Uttarakhand National Games in February. He has also been named in the Indian team for the Asian Championships (May 27-31) in South Korea.  Rohit, 23, has a personal best of 83.40m, which he achieved in 2023. He had undergone surgery in 2023 and made a return last year. He had won a silver in the Uttarakhand National Games with 80.47m, but settled for seventh place with a modest 76.37m in the Federation Cup. The 24-year-old Sahil is another up-and-coming javelin thrower in the 80m club. He has a personal best of 81.81m, which he achieved while winning gold in the National Inter-State Championships last year. He finished third in the Federation Cup with a throw of 77.84m.

During a recent virtual interaction, Chopra, who has a personal best of 89.94m, said that the NC Classic will have 3-4 Indians competing in it. The foreign competitors for the event are two-time world champion Anderson Peters (PB: 93.07m) of Grenada, 2016 Olympics gold winner Thomas Rohler (PB: 93.90m) of Germany, 2015 world champion Julius Yego (92.72m) of Kenya, American Curtis Thompson (current season leader with 87.76m), Asian Games bronze medallist Genki Dean (PB: 84.28m) of Japan, Rumesh Pathirage (PB: 85.45m) of Sri Lanka, Luiz Mauricio da Silva (PB: 85.91m) of Brazil.

Chopra had also invited Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, who, however, declined the offer, citing clash of dates with his training schedule for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships. The event will be jointly organised by Chopra and JSW Sports in collaboration with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and World Athletics.