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Sachin Yadav will spearhead the Indian challenge in javelin throw in his maiden international outing at the Asian Athletics Championships.

Javelin thrower Sachin Yadav is keen to make a winning start to his international career at the the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships (AAC), set to be held from May 27 to May 31 in Gumi, Korea. The tall, powerfully built 25-year-old, the second-best in the country behind Neeraj Chopra since 2024, will be spearheading India's challenge.

With a personal best of 84.39m this year, Sachin's main target is to qualify for the World Championships (85.50m).

"I will try to do that first, then we will see whatever distance I can manage. But my competition is always only with myself, I never target a specific distance in competition, only try to keep getting better," he said during an interaction in New Delhi on Thursday.

The Indian squad will be leaving for Gumi in two batches from New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram.

Often compared to Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem - who reportedly is targeting the 100m mark at the AAC - for the similarity in their physique, Sachin will be up against the Paris Olympics champion but insisted he wasn't thinking about it.

"He is an Olympic champion and a record holder, so obviously it is great motivation. But comparisons don't affect me, they only push me to do better - stronger the opponent, bigger the challenge. I never feel overwhelmed or scared by names," he declared.

Several Indians have breached 80m since Neeraj, but the consistency has been missing, along with dope taints on some big names. But Sachin is unfazed, saying that simply being strongly built doesn't make one a champion.

"Technique is the most important thing in javelin. You have to maintain overall strength, posture, explosive power because even the smallest of variation - in your arm, leg, body, head position - can mean a difference of 3-4m.

Hard work and focus

"The only way to ensure consistency is to work hard, maintain focus and trust your body and mind. It's when you try to do something drastically different for strength or stamina that problems and injuries start," he shrugged.

While most Indian sportspersons start early but fade away after landing a job, Sachin's journey began in earnest after he joined UP Police, thanks to his neighbour Sandeep Yadav, who introduced him to javelin. That also explains him never competing in any age-group event at the national level.

"Honestly, I never thought of reaching this level. I was doing 73-74m but once I got the job (in 2023), I stopped training for two months, I was satisfied with what I had. But Sandeep bhai told me to get back to training and even sent me to train with guru ji (Naval Singh) in Delhi, which changed everything. Even then, I was only thinking of 80-82m but now, the world is the target," he insisted.