India, July 15 -- Even after finishing fourth at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar in June with a throw of 77.68 metres, javelin thrower Anand Singh was all smiles, knowing he needed a little more effort to make his presence felt at the Asian U23 Athletics Championships in Ordos, China this month.

The 22-year-old achieved this by winning the javelin gold in China with a career-best 80.57m. He is now the sixth javelin thrower from Uttar Pradesh in India's 80m-plus club. The others are Rohit Yadav, Sachin Yadav, Vipin Kasana, Shivpal Singh and Rishabh Nehra. Anand Singh has now set his sights higher.

Singh's gold medal was India's only win in an individual event as the country finished with 16 medals a...