Rohit Yadav
At the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Rohit flung the javelin to 84.35 metres, securing bronze, though narrowly missing his recent national-best mark of 87.48 metres. Sri Lanka’s Romesh Pathirage and India’s Yashvir Singh threw 85.72 metres to claim silver. His journey from Dabhiya, around 40 km from Jaunpur, is rooted in Sabhajit’s makeshift academy, created in the family courtyard and adjoining fields. Sabhajit, who won more than 80 medals in veteran events, invested his prize money in equipment and training and introduced sons Rahul and Rohit to javelin a decade ago. Rohit won World School Games under-19 gold in Turkey in 2016 and finished sixth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships. Today, more than 30 young throwers train at the academy, inspired by Neeraj Chopra and now Rohit too.
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“It’s bronze, but it feels like gold,” Rohit told 69-year-old Sabhajit Yadav, the former marathoner whose sacrifices and improvised backyard academy laid the foundation for his son’s rise from Dabhiya to the continental stage. Congratulating the athlete, BLW general manager Ashutosh Pant said Rohit’s feat had brought glory not only to the nation but also to the organisation. Varanasi: As Rohit Yadav’s javelin sliced through the air in Nagoya and landed far enough to earn India an Asian Games bronze, the first call from the podium-bound athlete was to his father in a small village in Jaunpur. Back home, Dabhiya erupted in celebration the moment news of the medal arrived. Villagers streamed into Rohit’s ancestral home carrying sweets, burst crackers and embraced family members as if welcoming back a champion. At the centre of the celebrations stood Sabhajit, receiving congratulations from neighbours and well-wishers, while sharing the pride-filled words his son had spoken moments after securing his maiden Asian Games podium finish. Rohit dedicated the medal to his father’s struggles and to the people of the country. The modest home has a runway, a small gym and a curtain of old blankets and mattresses tied to trees to help athletes judge throwing angles. Space remains limited, especially when crops fill neighbouring fields, but Dabhiya’s javelin dream keeps growing with every medal and every new trainee arriving at the village nursery daily now. At Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), where Rohit serves as an office superintendent in the electrical department, news of the Asian Games bronze sparked celebrations among colleagues and officials. Sports officials and members of the BLW family joined in extending their best wishes, expressing confidence that the javelin thrower would continue to scale greater heights in the years ahead. Download the TOI App.