India’s 19 Torchbearers Ready for Tokyo World Athletics Championships 2025
When the world gathers in Tokyo for the World Athletics Championships (13–21 September 2025), India will send a squad of 19 athletes a number that reflects both the country’s growing depth and the challenges it still faces on the global stage.
For some, the mission is medals; for many others, it is about testing themselves in the crucible of competition, reaching finals, and building belief that Indian athletics can compete across disciplines.
Among the names that instantly grab attention is Neeraj Chopra, Olympic champion and world star in the javelin throw. This season he has hurled 90.23 metres, a mark that places him second in the world behind Germany’s Julian Weber at 91.51m. Tokyo promises another duel of giants, with Chopra at the centre of it. Unlike past editions, though, he will not stand alone.
Sachin Yadav has reached 85.16m, Rohit Yadav has gone to 83.65m, and Yash Vir Singh has managed 82.57m. For the first time, India fields four men who can consistently breach 82m, making the javelin not just a Chopra story but a movement. While Weber and Anderson Peters remain formidable, the presence of four Indians in the top 50 underlines a new dynasty in the making.
Another area of quiet confidence lies in the men’s triple jump, where Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker have both made their marks. Chithravel, with a best of 17.37m, ties the national record and sits inside the global top ten, while Abdulla’s 17.19m places him just outside. Leaders like Italy’s Andy Díaz Hernández at 17.80m and China’s Ruiting Wu at 17.68m still have the edge, but the gap is narrowing. For Chithravel, Tokyo could be the stage where he breaks into the medal zone. For Abdulla, it is about consistency and using the rivalry with his teammate as fuel. Together, they symbolize a new chapter in India’s field-event ambitions.
In the long jump, Murali Sreeshankar carries the baton. His 8.13m season best is impressive, but against Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou’s 8.46m and Italy’s Mattia Furlani’s 8.37m, it feels a step behind. Sreeshankar has shown flashes of brilliance at the Asian level, but on the world stage he remains outside the top ten. For him, Tokyo is about holding his nerve in qualifying, making the final, and proving to himself that he can soar alongside the world’s finest.
Not all the stories are in the sandpits and throwing fields. On the track, India is beginning to challenge old assumptions. Animesh Kujur, with his 20.32 seconds in the 200m, represents a breakthrough for Indian sprinting. Yet the competition is daunting: Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo has clocked 19.76, and America’s Noah Lyles a blistering 19.63. Kujur will not be in the medal conversation, but his very presence in the starting blocks alongside global sprinting royalty is a victory of its own proof that Indian sprinters are edging closer to the world’s elite.
The hurdles tell a similar tale. Tejas Shirse, with a 13.51 in the 110m hurdles, has national pedigree but faces a mountain against the likes of Cordell Tinch (12.87) and Grant Holloway (13.11). The gap is significant, but every race at this level is part of his education. Making a semi-final would be a success, a small step forward in the broader marathon of progress.
If sprinting is about closing gaps measured in tenths of a second, distance running is about narrowing chasms of minutes. Yet, India’s Gulveer Singh has already made history. His 12:59.77 in the 5000m shattered barriers, making him the first Asian to dip under 13 minutes indoors. He also lowered his national 10,000m record to 27:00.22, agonisingly close to the qualification standard. Still, the world’s best are on another plane Hagos Gebrhiwet has run 12:46.82 in the 5000m, and Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary has clocked 26:43.82 for 10,000m. For Gulveer, Tokyo will not be about medals but about proving that Indians can line up against the East African giants without feeling out of place.
On the women’s side, Pooja has emerged as the face of middle-distance running. She has clocked 2:01.89 in the 800m and 4:10.83 in the 1500m, winning medals at the Asian level. But the global standards are extraordinary: Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson at 1:54.74 in the 800m and Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon at 3:48.68 in the 1500m are running in another stratosphere.
For Pooja, the gap is wide seven seconds in the 800m, more than twenty in the 1500m but her courage to line up in Tokyo is significant. Each race will be about experience, about shrinking that psychological gulf, about paving the way for the next generation.
The women’s steeplechase offers another narrative of parallel journeys. Parul Chaudhary, with a national record of 9:12.46, is within the world’s top twenty. Her teammate Ankita, with 9:31.99, is further down but improving rapidly.
World leaders like Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi at 8:45.25 and Kenya’s Faith Cherotich at 8:48.71 remain untouchable, yet the fact that Parul has met the direct qualification standard is a breakthrough for Indian athletics. For Ankita, competing here is about growth, learning how to handle the pressure of a world championship stage.
Field events also see Annu Rani returning as India’s standard bearer in the women’s javelin. After a challenging period, her 62.59m throw this year signaled a comeback, earning her a spot in the global top 15. Against Austria’s Victoria Hudson (67.76m) and Serbia’s Adriana Vilagoš (67.22m), she is still outside medal range. But for Rani, reaching the final would be a reaffirmation of her role as a trailblazer for Indian women in throwing.
In the high jump, Sarvesh Kushare has cleared 2.26m this season, but the world’s best Danil Lysenko at 2.35m and Woo Sanghyeok at 2.34m remain out of reach. For him, Tokyo is less about podiums and more about soaking in the experience, measuring himself against athletes he has long admired, and preparing for future breakthroughs.
Race walking, one of India’s traditional strongholds at the continental level, tells a sobering story at the global stage. Servin Sebastian, with his 1:21:13 in the 20km walk, is minutes adrift of Japan’s Toshikazu Yamanishi at 1:16:10.
In the 35km walk, Ram Baboo (2:32:53) and Sandeep Kumar (2:35:05) face an even wider gulf compared to Massimo Stano’s world-leading 2:20:43. For them, the Championships are about endurance, about honouring the work done back home, even if medals remain a distant dream. On the women’s side, Priyanka Goswami holds India’s national record at 2:56:34, but the leaders Spain’s María Pérez at 2:38:59 and Italy’s Antonella Palmisano at 2:39:35 are nearly eighteen minutes ahead. Tokyo 2025 will be the last edition to feature the 35km walk before its replacement by a mixed relay, giving Priyanka’s race a historical poignancy.
Across these 19 names, India’s campaign paints a layered picture. In some events, like the men’s javelin and triple jump, the country is no longer a fringe presence but a genuine medal force. In others, particularly the track and endurance events, the gap to the world’s best remains daunting. Yet, each athlete carries value some bring immediate medal hopes, others the promise of a brighter future.
If medals come, they are most likely to be from Neeraj Chopra in the javelin, perhaps with Praveen Chithravel pushing into contention in the triple jump. For the rest, success will be measured in finals reached, national records broken, and lessons learned. Tokyo, in many ways, is not just about podiums but about progression.
By the time Los Angeles 2028 arrives, India hopes these experiences will translate into medals across more disciplines. For now, the nation watches its 19 torchbearers step onto the tracks and fields of Tokyo, carrying both ambition and belief. Some may return with medals, others with scars, but all will carry the story of a country slowly but surely carving its place in the world of athletics.
