Neeraj Chopra Praises India's Young Athletes After U20 World Championships

Neeraj Chopra has praised India’s young athletes after the country finished the World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon, USA, with three medals. The Indian team returned with two silver medals and one bronze, matching its medal tally from the 2021 and 2022 editions.

"Congratulations to the entire Indian contingent at the U-20 World Athletics Championships, who gave their best for the country and returned not just with medals, but so much of exposure and experience of competing with international athletes. Keep building on this momentum!" Neeraj Chopra wrote on X. India’s campaign ended without a gold, but the three-medal haul showed continued progress at the junior level. Ashish Yadav won silver in the men’s javelin throw, Basant Kumar Meghwal claimed silver in the men’s high jump, while Shahnavaz Khan took bronze in the men’s long jump.

Pooja Singh falls short, relay team finishes 9th

High jumper Pooja Singh, one of India’s biggest medal hopes, finished seventh in the women’s final. The 19-year-old cleared 1.84m but failed all three attempts at 1.87m, well below her national senior record of 1.93m set while winning gold at the Asian U20 Championships in May.

Australia’s Izobelle Louison-Roe won gold with 1.92m, while Hungary’s Lilianna Batori and Spain’s Aitana Alonso took silver and bronze respectively. India’s women’s 4x400m relay team also finished ninth after clocking 3:45.28. Despite missing out on gold, India’s three medals continue a stronger run in junior athletics. The country had won just four medals between 2002 and 2018, but has since regularly reached the podium, including historic golds by Chopra in 2016 and Hima Das in 2018.