India’s dominance in men’s javelin throw was on display in the Commonwealth Games of 2026 as Neeraj Chopra reached the summit stage along with his fellow Indian team members Rohit Yadav and Yash Vir Singh. All three Indian athletes won their place in the final by crossing the top twelve in a tough qualification round at Scotstoun Stadium. The only country to have three athletes in the 18-man field was India and no other country can even qualify even two athletes to make it to the medal round.
The qualification round took place in extremely poor weather conditions, where strong wind was blowing on the throwers in all the different classes. Sri Lanka's world leader Rumesh Tharanga continued his fantastic run of form in 2026 and finished first in the final with a record throw of 82.84 meters while the world champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan was seventh with a season-best 78.63 meters. Kenya’s former world champion and 2014 Glasgow gold medalist Julius Yego narrowly missed out on the field and ended up 13th in the qualification.
For India the qualification campaign was a test for grit and strategy. Neeraj Chopra, the 2018 Commonwealth Games champion, placed fifth with a best throw of 79.61 meters in the second and final attempt of the day. Rohit Yadav came back from early difficulties and was ninth with a throw of 78.60 metres on his third attempt after two straight foul throws. And Yash Vir Singh was the last man and got to the final with a distance of 78.36 meters, so he took 10th in the final so far after getting 73.89 and 74.45 meters.
Neeraj Chopra's 2026 Commonwealth Games will mark the second time he will compete and he will have to return after a long, painful period of time due to injury after the World Championships last year. The Indian thrower made his return to the Doha Diamond League last month and managed to finish fourth place with a record 85.69 metres. Chopra, who failed to defend his title in Birmingham four years ago due to injury, and all the Indian finalists will have a chance to shine on a gold medal stage once again in 2026.
