World Athletics Championships 2025 review: Tokyo show brings home hard truth for Indian athletics

Naval Singh, coach of Indian javelin thrower Sachin Yadav, had mixed feelings at the conclusion of the men’s javelin throw competition at the 2025 World Championships. On the evening of September 18, belying all pre-event expectations, the 25-year-old Sachin nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Indian track and field history. He threw a personal best of 86.27m to briefly claim the silver-medal position before eventually slipping just off the podium and finishing fourth.

Even without a medal on his World Championships debut, Sachin outperformed some of the sport’s biggest names – world leader Julian Weber and Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem both finished behind him. From an Indian perspective, perhaps more significant was the fact that Sachin finished ahead of Neeraj Chopra – the first time in eight years that the Tokyo Olympic champion had been bested by another Indian. (The last instance was at the 2017 World Championships, when Davinder Kang made the finals while Neeraj failed to advance from qualification.)

Remarkable as it was, Naval – who had stayed back in India with a liver ailment just weeks earlier – told Sportstar he could not feel fully satisfied.

“On the one hand, I’m happy that he got a Personal Best throw in such a major competition. But it feels incomplete. After the first throw (86.27m), I was expecting him to cross 90m. In the past, Sachin had been throwing really hard in his first attempt, but something always went wrong. At the National Games (where he won gold in February this year), he had thrown over 86m in his warm-up but twisted his ankle in his first throw. Then at the Neeraj Chopra Classic (in July), he nearly slipped again. At the World Championships, the plan was to go at only 80 per cent in his first throw. So, after that went to 86m, I was confident a much bigger throw was coming. But luck was not on our side,” says Naval.

Bad luck came in the form of one of the sudden downpours that swept across Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium during the Championships. “When it rains, the Mondotrack runway becomes really slippery. It becomes really difficult to control your run-up. I think if it wasn’t for the rain, Sachin would have been standing on the podium,” he says.

Neeraj was another who might blame misfortune for his result. Having medalled at the last two World Championships, he seemed in good touch heading to Tokyo. He had crossed the 90m mark for the first time at the Doha Diamond League and sailed through qualification with his first throw. What was not known until after the final was that he had suffered a back injury just weeks before. Unable to train or even throw until the start of the competition, Neeraj managed one big qualifying throw, but the final proved a step too far.

India’s contingent disappoints

Neeraj had entered the competition as India’s best medal hope, with Sachin seen as a dark horse. With both falling short of the podium, India finished outside the medals altogether. This stood in stark contrast to the overall diversity of the medal table – a record 53 different nations reached the podium at these Worlds, surpassing the previous record of 46 set at Osaka in 2007 and equalled in Budapest in 2023.

Beyond medals, India’s overall performance in Tokyo was notably weaker than at the 2023 Worlds. In Budapest, six Indian athletes reached finals, setting four Personal Bests, two national records and one continental record. In Tokyo, only three athletes (high jumper Sarvesh Kushare, Neeraj and Sachin) made finals, while just three (Sachin, Kushare and Pooja Olla in the 800m) set Personal Bests. The men’s 4x400m relay team, which had set the Asian record and finished fifth in Budapest, did not even qualify for Tokyo.

Other disappointments included double Asian champion Gulveer Singh, who finished 16th in the men’s 10,000m and missed out on a 5000m final spot by one place. In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, national-record holder and Asian silver medallist Parul Chaudhary ended 20th overall, failing to make the final. Triple jumper Praveen Chithravel, who had opened the season with a national record-equalling 17.37m, managed only 16.74m in Tokyo.

Still, there were bright spots. High jumper Kushare cleared a Personal Best of 2.28m to finish sixth – the best ever result for an Indian high jumper at a global event. It was all the more remarkable given he was the shortest athlete in the elite final and had competed internationally only once this year, at the Asian Championships.

Meanwhile, Pooja may not have advanced past her 800m heat, but her 2:01.03 clocking made her the third-fastest Indian ever in the event, marking her as a promising prospect for 2026.

Mondo, McLaughlin stand out

If India’s results disappointed, the Championships still delivered a slew of headline performances in the first Worlds of the 2028 Olympic cycle.

One world record, nine Championships records and nine area records were set or equalled. There were also historic firsts: Samoa’s Alex Rose (men’s discus), Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred (women’s 100m) and Uruguay’s Julia Paternain (women’s marathon) all claimed their nations’ first World Championships medals. Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu won his country’s first-ever gold in the men’s marathon.

Mondo Duplantis set his 14th world record in the pole vault, clearing 6.30m. Melissa Jefferson-Woden of the USA completed a sprint treble in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran the second-fastest 400m in history – 47.78 – becoming the only athlete to win both the women’s 400m and 400m hurdles title (having taken the latter in 2022).

For Indian officials, Tokyo leaves questions. Did athletes peak too early? How wide is the gap between India’s best and the world’s? And is the nation’s track and field reputation still tethered to the health of one athlete – Neeraj?

Naval Singh, however, prefers to look ahead. “Sachin did the best he could, considering he didn’t have the best preparation for the 2025 season. We didn’t really get an off-season. We have been competing right through 2024. But we will be preparing properly for next year. At the next World Championships, we want to be on the podium,” he says.

Published on Sep 23, 2025