Neeraj Chopra Shines Amidst Tough Conditions at Commonwealth Games 2026
Neeraj Chopra Advances to Javelin Final
In Glasgow, Scotland, on July 30, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra faced challenging weather conditions but successfully secured his spot in the men's javelin final at the Commonwealth Games 2026. 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 the windy conditions. He opened with a throw of 76.28m and improved to 79.61m on his second attempt, finishing fifth in the qualification standings, as reported by ESPN.
After confirming his place in the final, Neeraj 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 and England's Ben East rounded out the top four with throws of 80.64m and 80.38m, respectively.
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 a throw of 78.63m, ensuring that Neeraj, Rohit, and Yash kept India's medal hopes alive.
Tejaswin Shankar also made headlines with a strong performance in the men's decathlon. Despite concerns over a previous high jump injury, he began his campaign with a 10.96s run in the 100m, earning 870 points. He then achieved a personal best of 7.82m in the long jump, collecting 1015 points and briefly leading the event.
In the shot put, which he considers a weaker discipline, Tejaswin recorded a best of 13.09m. After three events, he stood fourth overall with 2558 points, trailing behind Olympic champion Damian Warner, defending Commonwealth champion Lindon Victor, and Sammy Ball.
India also saw success in the men's triple jump qualification, with Praveen Chitravel and Selva Prabhu both advancing to the final. Chitravel's jump of 16.41m placed him second, while Selva, after two fouls, managed a clean jump of 16.26m to secure third.
In cycling, 16-year-old para athlete Lisha Das made her Commonwealth Games debut in the women's C4-C5 4000m individual pursuit qualification. Although she finished fourth and did not qualify for the final, her time of 6:58.000 was impressive for her first major international competition.
The men's team sprint cycling event ended for India in the qualifying round, with Rojit Singh, David Beckham, and Ronaldo Singh finishing seventh out of seven teams with a time of 46.396s.
In the men's 400m semi-finals, Vishal TK finished sixth in his heat with a time of 46.33s, concluding his campaign.
Weightlifter Martina Devi came close to earning a medal in the women's 86kg+ category. Competing in her Commonwealth Games debut, the 20-year-old rebounded from a missed opening snatch attempt at 103kg to successfully lift 105kg on her final attempt.
Martina then achieved a personal best clean and jerk of 140kg, totaling 245kg and putting her in medal contention. However, she was unable to clear her remaining attempts of 144kg and 146kg, finishing outside the medal positions.
England's Emily Campbell defended her Commonwealth Games title with a total of 278kg, while Malaysia's Siti Draman and Canada's Etta Love took home silver and bronze, respectively.
Despite not reaching the podium, Martina's performance highlighted her potential on the international stage, as India continued to progress in athletics, cycling, and weightlifting events in Glasgow.