After a stellar performance in national-level competitions, ace athlete Arjun took a silver medal in the javelin throw in the 4e Asian Youth Athletics Championship 2022, Kuwait. He threw the javelin to a distance of 70.98m.
Arjun from Delhi is a 9th grade student at the modern public school, Shalimar Bagh. The 15-year-old athlete currently ranks number one in India, third in Asia and tenth in the world in the boys’ under-18 javelin category.
For the past two years, he has been training to qualify for the Asian Games. It was Arjun’s outstanding performance on the 17e 2022 National Youth Athletic Championship which awarded him with a gold medal and confirmed his name in the Indian squad for 4e AYAC.
Arjun’s father is a sweet salesman in Delhi and his mother is a housewife. He says that his father has been an athlete at Discus Throw and that he motivated Arjun to participate in sports. Arjun says his parents have always supported him, both in science and in sports, and want him to perform at an international level.
“I have been practicing javelin throwing for the past four years and my coach Raman Jha has helped me a lot in my training and pushed me to the best of my ability,” said Arjun.
Although Arjun wants some help from the government to get a better education, he says his school is the only reason behind his success so far. He is allowed to train in the school yard during school hours and he does not follow any other training outside. The school also provided him with equipment for his training.
When asked how he was preparing for the championship, he said: “I spent at least three to four hours on the floor every day during school hours and some days I even practiced after school. My lessons were compensated accordingly so that I played sports and study together.”
Speaking of his future plans, Arjun said he looks up to Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra and wants to one day represent his country in the Olympics.
As many as 30 countries from Asia participated in the 4e AYAC, which closed on October 16e in Kuwait. During the four-day championship, India topped the medal tally with a total of 24 medals – 6 gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze. There were 35 members in the Indian squad. The Chinese Taipei team emerges as the first runner-up with six gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
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