Manoj spears stereotypes, becomes first athlete from TN to enter 80m club

While a steady trickle of Indian throwers have been crossing this barrier in recent years (12 for the first time in the last four years alone), Manoj’s (2nd from left) mark was still significant. He’s the first javelin thrower of this caliber from Tamil Nadu, a state far better known for running and jumps than power events like the throws. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

At the conclusion of the men’s javelin throw competition at the Indian Athletics final series late on Thursday night in New Delhi, the top of the podium had a couple of expected names.

In first place was Rohit Yadav, who last month became the second best all-time India thrower. Also there was Yash Vir Singh, who recently clinched bronze at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Between them in second place, with a slightly bewildered look on his face – as if he could hardly believe where he was standing - was Tamil Nadu’s Manoj Kumar.

“I just feel so happy that I’m seeing Rohit Yadav sir and Yashvir Singh sir. This was the first time I was even competing with them. Now I am standing along with them,” he tells Sportstar.

To finish second, the 21-year-old had thrown 80.73m in his first attempt of the evening, a personal best. It was also his first throw over 80m: the barrier that marks genuine world-level contenders, much as the 8m mark does in the men’s long jump and the 17m mark does in the men’s triple jump. Manoj is the latest of 20 Indians to have thrown this far, a list headed of course by Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra.

While a steady trickle of Indian throwers have been crossing this barrier in recent years (12 for the first time in the last four years alone), Manoj’s mark was still significant. He’s the first javelin thrower of this caliber from Tamil Nadu, a state far better known for running and jumps than power events like the throws.

That had been something Manoj had often been reminded of when he pursued his passion.

“So many people said I wouldn’t ever achieve anything in the javelin throw. They would laugh at me. There’s no tradition of throwing in Tamil Nadu. They told me I’m wasting my time. Now I can tell them that I made the right choice,” he says

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Not his first choice

Growing up in the village of Kattur Papakuruchi, just outside Tiruchirapalli, Manoj didn’t start off as a javelin thrower either. A student of St. Anthony’s higher secondary school, he took part in athletics with an early interest in pole vault.

“I used to take part in everything – sprinting, jumping. I actually had a lot of speed. But what I really liked was the pole vault. There was a very good pole vaulter in my school and at first I wanted to be like him. I even have a 3m jump at the school level,” he says.

Manoj also played a lot of cricket and although he didn’t know it just yet, both pole vault and cricket would eventually help him in his eventual choice of sport. That was javelin.

Manoj is optimistic that things will get easier for him. A couple of months ago, he was inducted to the Indian Army and has started training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune.  | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

“When I was in college, I had a friend, Madheswaran, who was a really good javelin thrower. He wasn’t a national-level thrower but he had thrown 70m in Tamil Nadu. At that time I didn’t really think about whether I had a future in this event. I just thought the javelin throw was interesting. I had already trained as a pole vaulter and cricket so I had some basic strength, speed and a lot of flexibility and that really helped me out,” he says.

Although he started the javelin around the same time Neeraj Chopra created history with his Olympic gold, Manoj says he looked elsewhere for his primary motivation.

“At the time I started the javelin throw, I used to watch a lot of videos. I have a lot of respect for Neeraj Chopra but at that time I actually used to see videos of (World record holder) Jan Zelezny. I felt Neeraj has a lot of power which I didn’t have but I had a lot of speed which was similar to Zelezny,” he remembers.

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For all his enthusiasm, Manoj still had a major obstacle to clear. For all it’s success in track and field, Tamil Nadu has never had any tradition of top-quality throwing. That meant there were no coaches as well. Initially, Manoj trained under a sprinting coach who also had an interest in the javelin throw.

That meant that, initially at least, his progress was slow. Until 2024, he only had a personal best of 56m at a state-level meet. But that same year, he started training with Santhosh Kumar, a coach who had only just retired from the Indian Army and was training at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) center in Ariyalur, a town some 75km from Trichy.

Manoj credits Santhosh with his development as an athlete.

“I had interest but I had no way of building on it. I actually believe that my real training happened under Santhosh sir in 2024. Santhosh sir, saw something in me. I hadn’t even thrown 60m when I started training with him and he told me that I could throw much further. He toughened my training and my mindset. He built my speed and technique. He also taught me what to eat and how to respect my sport,” he says.

Near-death experience

Manoj crossed the 60m mark for the first time at the Junior Indian championships in 2024, which despite his modest 11th place finish, he considers amongst the more significant tournaments of his career. It marked a steady improvement in his performance. 2026 though has been his biggest year yet.

He made a throw of 75.18m at the Indian Athletics Series in Pune in June and then improved to 77.82 m at the Indian Athletics Series in Meerut earlier this month.

But his progress hasn’t been all smooth. In 2025 he suffered a severe bout of appendicitis that ruled him out for half the year as he recovered.

“The doctors told me that if I had been brought in just three hours later, I would have suffered sepsis and likely died,” he says.

There has also been the issue that plagues most young Indian athletes – the lack of finances. The son of a farmer, Manoj says he’s always had to keep an eye on his bank account even as he trains and competes. Even the javelin he used in New Delhi was a borrowed one from Madras Christian College in Chennai where he’s currently pursuing his post graduation in public relations.

“Everything costs money and when you are just starting your career you don’t have any,” he says. “I’m lucky because although they don’t understand sports, my parents have always been very supportive. But I don’t have any sponsors and all of this costs money,” he says. Even as he prepared to compete in New Delhi, Manoj says he was calculating his expenses. “Train tickets to Delhi cost 6000 rupees. It’s another 4000 rupees for two days at a hotel and the entrance fee for the competition is 1200 rupees,” he says.

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As such the 50,000 rupees prize money he won in New Delhi will go a long way. “I’ve taken part in five competitions this year and spent close to 50,000 rupees. So with this money, I can take part in another five competitions,” he says.

Manoj is optimistic that things will get easier for him. A couple of months ago, he was inducted to the Indian Army and has started training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune. With just two years of formal training so far, Manoj believes he has a high ceiling for improvement. Standing 5 foot 10 and weighing 76kg, he’s not the biggest thrower but feels he can gain more strength while maintaining his speed.

And while he’s managed to prove more than a few people wrong with his performance in New Delhi on Thursday, he’s looking to do more.

“This is my first major medal in India but I want to be regularly throwing at this level. Right now, I’m just one of many athletes who has thrown 80m. But I have bigger dreams. I want to be able to compete for India at the biggest competitions. I’m happy that I’ve crossed 80m but I’m not satisfied. I know I can throw much more than this,” he says.