India finish medal-less at 2025 Worlds; Sachin’s fourth place best show

India’s campaign at the 2025 World Athletics Championships came to a disappointing end after Servin Sebasthiyan finished 31st in men’s 20km race walk event on Saturday. Javelin thrower Sachin Yadav’s fourth-place finish is India’s best result in the ongoing edition while his compatriot and two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra finished eighth in the event.

Sebasthiyan clocked 1:23.03, five minutes behind the eventual winner Caio Bonfim of Brazil. The time was a minute and 39 seconds off his personal best, as he battled the heat and humidity of Tokyo.

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Earlier on Friday, national record holders Gulveer Singh and Annu Rani endured disappointing outings to crash out in the qualification stages of their respective events.

In men’s 5000m, Gulveer clocked 13:42.34 to finish ninth in Heat 2, his slowest time of the season and well adrift of his national record 12:59.77. The 25-year-old narrowly missed the cut, as only the top eight from each heat advanced to the final. Overall, he placed 27th out of 39 athletes.

Earlier in the competition, Gulveer had finished 16th in the 10,000m on September 14.

For seasoned campaigner Annu Rani, it was another frustrating outing on the world stage. The 33-year-old javelin thrower, featuring in her fifth World Championships, could manage only 55.18m in Group A of the qualification round, her poorest effort of the season.

She ended 15th in her group and 29th overall out of 36 competitors.

Rani, who holds the national record of 63.82m (set in 2022), came into Tokyo after a modest 2024 but had shown glimpses of a revival with a season-best 62.59m earlier this year. However, she failed to replicate that form when it mattered most.

The two-time finalist had previously reached the medal round in 2019 and 2022, with her best finish being seventh place. In contrast, she exited in the qualification stages in 2017, 2023, and now again in 2025.