Navi Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) Promising javelin thrower Sahil Silwal is all set for an exciting duel with the likes of Shivpal Singh and Rohit Yadav during the two-day fourth Indian Open Throws Competition starting here on Thursday.

Olympian Singh and Yadav, a 2022 World Championships finalist in Eugene, USA, are also strong contenders for the gold medal in the men's javelin throw.

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The 24-year-old Silwal has been training at the Reliance Academy in Mumbai for the past one year and had a good pre-season camp in South Africa.

"I'm extremely excited to get my season started on a promising note as the competition is being held in my own backyard," Silwal said on Wednesday.

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Silwal's personal best of 81.81m was recorded last year during the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Panchkula, Haryana.

The men's javelin event has attracted 27 competitors. But the season's leading thrower and 2025 Uttarakhand National Games champion Sachin Yadav will skip the event as he is nursing an ankle niggle.

Both Singh and Yadav started their season at the Uttarakhand National Games in February.

Overall 200 competitors in U-18, U-20 and senior groups in both male and female categories will contest in 22 finals, including 11 on Thursday.

The competition will be conducted in shot put, discus throw, hammer and javelin.

Steve Lemke, throwing coach at Reliance Academy, said the two-day competition will be a great opportunity for his athletes to make a strong start to the 2025 season.

"We are fielding 12 throwers at the fourth Indian Open Throwing Competition," Lemke said.

"The throwing competition marks another significant step in the longstanding partnership between the Athletics Federation of India and Reliance Foundation."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)