Neeraj Chopra and Indian Athletes Shine at Commonwealth Games 2026
Neeraj Chopra Advances to Javelin Final
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra faced challenging conditions but successfully secured his spot in the men's javelin final at the Commonwealth Games 2026 on Thursday. Alongside him, Indian athletes Rohit Yadav, Yash Vir Singh, Tejaswin Shankar, Praveen Chitravel, and Selva Prabhu also showcased impressive performances during the first half of Day 7 in athletics.
Neeraj, known for his exceptional qualification rounds, had to rely on his second throw this time due to unfavorable windy conditions in Glasgow. He started with a throw of 76.28m and improved to 79.61m on his second attempt, finishing fifth in the qualification standings. After confirming his place in the final, he opted not to take his final throw.
Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage led the qualification with a throw of 82.84m, followed by Grenada's Anderson Peters at 81.29m. South Africa's Douw Smit (80.64m) and England's Ben East (80.38m) rounded out the top four. Rohit Yadav finished ninth with a throw of 78.37m, while Yash Vir Singh secured 10th place with a final throw of 78.36m. Defending champion Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan qualified seventh with 78.63m. The top 12 athletes advanced to the final, keeping India's medal hopes alive.
Tejaswin Shankar Shines in Decathlon
Tejaswin Shankar delivered an impressive performance in the men's decathlon, competing despite concerns over a previous high jump injury. He remained competitive against a strong field that included Olympic champion Damian Warner and defending Commonwealth champion Lindon Victor.
Tejaswin kicked off his decathlon with a 10.96s run in the 100m, earning 870 points. He then excelled in the long jump, achieving a personal best of 7.82m for 1015 points, briefly leading the event. In the shot put, he recorded a best of 13.09m, a discipline he considers one of his weaker ones. After three events, he stood fourth overall with 2558 points, trailing Warner (2749), Victor (2685), and Sammy Ball (2605).
Chitravel and Prabhu Secure Triple Jump Final Spots
In men's triple jump qualification, India celebrated success as Praveen Chitravel and Selva Prabhu secured their places in the final. Chitravel achieved a jump of 16.41m, finishing second in qualification, while Selva bounced back from two fouls to record a clean jump of 16.26m, placing third.
Mixed Results in Other Events
In cycling, 16-year-old para athlete Lisha Das made a notable Commonwealth Games debut in the women's C4-C5 4000m individual pursuit qualification. Although she finished fourth and missed the final, her time of 6:58.000 was impressive for her first major international competition.
The men's team sprint cycling event saw India's campaign end in the qualifying round, with Rojit Singh, David Beckham, and Ronaldo Singh finishing seventh among seven teams with a time of 46.396s.
In the men's 400m semi-finals, Vishal TK placed sixth in his heat with a time of 46.33s, concluding his campaign. Weightlifter Martina Devi came close to adding another medal for India in the women's 86kg+ category. After missing her opening snatch attempt at 103kg, she successfully lifted 105kg in her final attempt and achieved a personal best clean and jerk of 140kg, totaling 245kg. However, she could not clear her remaining attempts of 144kg and 146kg, finishing outside the medal positions. England's Emily Campbell defended her title with a total of 278kg, while Malaysia's Siti Draman and Canada's Etta Love took silver and bronze, respectively. Despite not medaling, Martina's performance highlighted her potential on the international stage as India continued to progress in athletics, cycling, and weightlifting events in Glasgow.