World U20 Championships 2026: Can India Produce Its Next Neeraj Chopra or Hima Das in Oregon?

India has sent a 36-member athletics team to take part in the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026, which will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, from August 5 to August 9.

The squad includes 23 male athletes and 13 female athletes. The team is travelling to Oregon after achieving its best-ever performance outside India at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships held in May.

At the 2026 Asian U-20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, China, India finished in second place behind China. The country won a total of 19 medals, including 10 gold medals.

Leading India’s challenge at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon will be teenage high jumper Pooja Singh, who is already the senior Asian high jump champion.

India has produced some memorable performances at the World U20 Championships over the years. In 2016, Neeraj Chopra became the country’s first-ever world U20 champion when he won the men’s javelin throw gold medal with a world U20 record throw of 86.48m in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Two years later, Hima Das created history by becoming India’s first track and field world U20 champion after winning the women’s 400m gold medal at Tampere 2018.

According to myKhel, following are the five Indian athletes who look like the strongest medal contenders at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon:

1). POOJA SINGH (WOMEN’S HIGH JUMP): This will be Pooja Singh’s second appearance at the World Athletics U-20 Championships, and there is a huge difference between the Pooja of then and the Pooja of today.

At the previous edition of the World Athletics U-20 Championships, Pooja rewrote the Indian U-20 women’s high jump record to qualify for the final. She cleared 1.83m to finish second in Qualification Group B and ninth overall in the qualification round. However, in the final, she finished ninth with a best jump of 1.80m.

Since then, Pooja has established herself as one of the brightest talents in world athletics. She became the Asian champion, broke Sahana Kumari’s national record with a jump of 1.93m, won a silver medal at the Asian Indoor Championships, and also claimed the Asian U-20 title.

Her rapid rise has attracted international attention as well. Matt Horsnell, coach of two-time Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers, told myKhel: “I think she’s going really well and she had a little slight injury just at the end of last season and she’s really bounced back and doing well.”

Currently, Pooja is ranked second on the 2026 World U-20 season leaderboard with a best mark of 1.93m. Only Australia’s Izobelle Louison Roe is ahead of her with 1.95m.

Given the form Pooja has shown in 2026, she is certainly capable of winning a medal at this year’s World Athletics U-20 Championships.

2). SHAHNAVAZ KHAN (MEN’S LONG JUMP): One of India’s discoveries this season in the long jump is Shahnavaz Khan, and he is certainly among the strongest medal contenders in the event.

Last year, Shahnavaz made a name for himself by winning silver at the World Athletics Bronze Meet in Bhubaneswar. However, it was not just the medal that caught people’s attention, it was the distance he achieved. He jumped 8.04m, and only three Indian athletes managed to clear the 8m mark during the entire season, with Shahnavaz being one of them.

This season, however, Shahnavaz Khan has taken his performances to another level. He first jumped 8.23m at the Junior Federation Cup to win the gold medal. He then breached the 8m mark again at the Indian Athletics Series in Thiruvananthapuram, recording 8.17m and claiming another gold medal. Shahnavaz also won gold at the 2026 Asian U-20 Championships, where his best jump was 7.84m.

The biggest moment of his career so far came in Bhubaneswar at the Inter-State Athletics Championships, where he improved his personal best to 8.30m and also surpassed the qualification standard for the 2026 Asian Games.

Currently, Shahnavaz is the second-best long jumper in India this season. He also ranks second on the 2026 World U-20 list, with only Cuba’s Jorge Hodelín ahead of him with a jump of 8.46m. However, according to the start list, Jorge will not be participating in this competition.

One point worth noting is that all of Shahnavaz’s biggest jumps have come in India. At the Asian Indoor Championships, he finished fourth with a best jump of 7.70m. Although he won gold at the 2026 Asian U-20 Championships, his winning mark was only 7.84m. If he can improve his performances in major international competitions and come closer to the distances he has achieved on home soil, his chances of winning a medal will increase significantly.

3). ASHISH YADAV (MEN’S JAVELIN THROW): Neeraj Chopra has taken Indian javelin to such a remarkable level that people’s expectations have risen significantly, whether he is competing or not. As a result, javelin throw has become one of the most widely followed athletics events in India.

This time, India will be represented by Ashish Yadav in the men’s javelin throw at the World U-20 Championships. He started his 2026 season with a personal best of 74.49m and also won the silver medal at the Junior Federation Cup with a throw of 73.12m.

Yes, he did not perform well at the Asian U-20 Championships, where he finished fifth with a best throw of 69.58m. However, one competition does not define Ashish’s form or potential.

In his most recent competition, Ashish finished third with a best throw of 72.27m at the Indian Athletics Series-9 in Ludhiana. He currently ranks seventh on the 2026 World U-20 javelin list. At the World U-20 Championships in the USA, Ashish is expected to face strong competition from Jan Hendrik Heymans (77.14m), Ruslan Sadullaev (75.01m), and Nolan Carey (74.72m).

4). NITIN GUPTA (5000M RACE WALK): The in-form favorite, Nitin Gupta, has been in brilliant shape this season. He is the only athlete in the world in the U-20 category to break the 19-minute barrier in the 5000m race walk this season, clocking 18:54.37 at the Junior Federation Cup.

He also won the gold medal at the Asian U-20 Championships in Hong Kong with a time of 19:47.49.

Moreover, Nitin remains unbeaten this year, having not lost a single race. He will be hoping to carry the same momentum into the World U-20 Championships.

Nitin trains under Basanta Bahadur Rana, a highly accomplished coach who has also guided Asian Games medalist Ram Baboo and Asian Championships medalist Servin Sebastian, along with several other elite race walkers.

5). JITHIN ARJUNAN ( MEN’S LONG JUMP): Like Shahnavaz, Jithin is also a strong contender to win a medal at this edition of the World U-20 Championships. He currently ranks third on the World U-20 season leaderboard with a best mark of 8.12m.

Jithin won the silver medal at the 2026 Asian U-20 Championships with a best jump of 7.66m. Later, at the Indian Athletics Series-10 in Thiruvananthapuram, he breached the 8m mark for the first time in his career, becoming the 13th Indian athlete to achieve this feat.