India's Himanshu Jakhar makes history by winning the country’s first-ever gold in the boys' javelin throw at U18 Asian Athletics Championships in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on April 18, 2025.
Indian javelin thrower Himanshu Jakhar clinched the gold medal at the U-18 Asian Athletics Championships in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. This was also India’s first-ever gold medal in boys’ javelin throw at the continental championships.
Himanshu, who hails from Haryana, won the yellow metal on the final day of the competition with his personal best effort of 67.57m. His previous PB was 66.66m, which he had achieved in February this year. In the 700gm javelin throw, he has a PB of 74.56m, achieved at the National Junior Athletics Championships in December 2024.
The 17-year-old Indian's 67.57m opening throw earned him the gold medal ahead of China’s Lu Hao (63.45m) and Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Sadullaev (61.96m).
For Himanshu, who trained alongside star javelin throwers Neeraj Chopra and Jan Zelezny in South Africa, this was a rewarding performance.
However, Himanshu was the only Indian to win gold, and India won a total of 11 medals at the Championships. In the previous edition, India had won a whopping 24 medals in Tashkent in 2023. The medal tally included six golds, 11 silvers, and seven bronze medals, with sprinter Rezoana Mallick Heena winning three medals—two golds (Indian girls’ team relay and girls’ 400m) and one silver (girls’ 200m).
Earlier in the competition, Nitin Gupta (20:21.51 seconds) won India's first medal by claiming the silver medal in the boys’ 5000m race walk event. He lost the gold medal to China’s Zhu Ninghao, who was just 0.01 seconds faster.
Tannu, meanwhile, won silver in the girls' 400m. She clocked 57.63s to finish behind Japan’s Imamine Saki (57.27s). India’s Edwina Jason finished fifth in the race with a timing of 58.46s.
Nischay was another standout performer in the boys' section. The 16-year-old won a silver medal in the boys' shot put with a personal best effort of 19.59m, after claiming bronze in discus throw with a 58.85m haul.
Aarti, on the other hand, won bronze medals in both the girls’ 100m and 200m sprint events. She clocked new personal bests—11.93s in the 100m and 24.31s in the 200m.
In the boys' high jump, Devak Bhushan won the silver medal with a 2.03m leap, just 0.2m short of gold medallist Mohammad Alduaij of Kuwait.
Chiranth P, Sayed Sabeer, Saket Minj, and Kadir Khan, meanwhile, teamed up to win silver in the boys’ medley relay race with a new youth national record-setting time of 1:52.15. The previous mark was 1:52.96.
In the girls' medley relay, India’s Aarti, Prisha Mishra, Edwina Jason, and Tannu failed to finish the race due to the fall of the baton.
Indian medallists at the U-18 Asian Athletics Championships:
Himanshu - gold medal in boys’ javelin throw
Devak Bhushan - silver medal in boys’ high jump
Nitin Gupta - silver medal in boys’ 5000m race walk
Tannu - silver medal in girls’ 400m
Nischay - silver medal in boys’ shot put
Chiranth P, Sayed Sabeer, Saket Minj and Kadir Khan - silver medal in boys’ medley relay
Nischay - bronze medal in boys’ discus throw
Aarti - bronze medal in girls’ 100m
Aarti - bronze medal in girls’ 200m
Shourya Ambure - bronze medal in the girls’ 100m hurdles
Lakshita Mahlawat - bronze medal in girls’ discus throw
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