Commonwealth Games 2026: Neeraj Chopra's silver medal win powers India to 2-3 win, Sri Lanka wears crown
PTC News Desk: Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games on Friday despite not being at his best due to difficult weather conditions. Young Indian thrower Yashvir Singh surprised everyone by winning the bronze medal with a personal-best throw in his final attempt.
Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage lived up to expectations and won the gold medal with a throw of 89.75m in his second attempt.
Neeraj, the 28-year-old Tokyo Olympic champion, registered his season's best throw of 85.83m in his second attempt to finish second. It was slightly better than his previous season-best of 85.69m, which came at the Doha Diamond League in June.
Making his Commonwealth Games debut, 24-year-old Yashvir Singh produced a stunning final throw of 85.41m to secure the bronze medal. It was also his personal best, improving on his earlier mark of 83.72m. Before his last throw, he was in seventh place with a best effort of 81.33m. His final throw helped India finish with both silver and bronze in the event.
Pathirage's winning throw of 89.75m was especially impressive as the competition took place in cold and windy conditions. He is the only javelin thrower this season to have crossed the 90m mark, with a personal best of 92.62m set while winning the Rome Diamond League in June.
Neeraj returned to competition this season after recovering from a lower back injury that had troubled him since September last year. The injury delayed his comeback until the Doha Diamond League. This was his second Commonwealth Games appearance after winning gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Games.
After the event, Neeraj said he is still regaining full fitness but expects to improve in the coming months.
"I can't say my fitness is back to where it was before, but I'm getting there slowly. There is still time before the Asian Games. I'll compete in the Diamond League before that and keep improving," he said.
- With inputs from agencies
