By Sushant Singh
Neeraj Chopra has ended his 2026 season due to an ankle injury, meaning he will miss the upcoming Asian Games 2026.
He informed everyone through a social media post, announcing that a ligament tear in his ankle suffered during training will bring his 2026 season to an early and painful end.
Three major competitions were still on his calendar:
5 September – Diamond League Final
13 September – World Athletics Ultimate Championship
28 September – Asian Games 2026
The Asian Games are particularly important from India’s perspective, as the Indian athletics contingent came back with a 100+ medal haul in the last edition, with athletics bringing home the biggest share — 29 medals in total.
In men’s javelin, India won two medals, with Neeraj Chopra winning gold and Kishore Jena taking silver.
But the big question now is: who will represent India in men’s javelin?
ROHIT YADAV
Rohit Yadav has already been named in the provisional Asian Games squad. He recently produced a massive lifetime best of 87.68m, making him India’s second-best thrower of all time.
His 87.68m is currently the third-best throw in Asia this season.
His name was already in the provisional squad, but the question now is: who will replace Neeraj?
YASHVIR
Yashvir could be another strong option.
He finished second in the Asian Games qualifier at the Inter-State Championships with 83.72m and later won Commonwealth Games bronze with a lifetime best of 85.41m, currently the fourth-best throw in Asia this season.
However, Yashvir’s name is not included in the current Asian Games long list.
Now, it remains to be seen whether AFI, SAI or IOA can replace Neeraj’s name with Yashvir’s ahead of the Asian Games.
The good news is that the Athletics Federation is yet to finalise the team for the Asian Games 2026, which means there could still be some changes.
But whether they can replace Neeraj’s name with Yashvir’s — that is something we will have to wait and find out.