BENGALURU: World No. 1 men’s javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage’s gold hunt at the Asian Games hit an air pocket on Tuesday. His famous javelins, which flew to 92.62m on June 4 at the Diamond League in Rome, 92.07m on Aug 27 at the Diamond League in Zurich, and 91.09m on Sunday at the WA Ultimate Championship in Budapest, were all found damaged when he returned to Colombo as the new king of javelin.“All three javelins I used for over 90 throws have been damaged. It might have been a mistake by the airline, but that’s how it is. It’s not a big issue. I’ll move on,” the Sri Lankan star told reporters at Colombo airport after travelling on a Turkish Airlines flight. The 23-year-old has had an outstanding season this year, becoming the first Ultimate Champion, winning the Diamond League finals and climbing to the top of the world rankings.After starting his season with an 89.37m effort in the suburbs of Colombo, the Sri Lankan served notice by winning the Rome Diamond League with a monstrous 92.62m effort. This went perilously close to the 92.97m Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan threw to win Paris Olympics gold while setting a new Olympic and Asian record.Recognising the potential of their latest star, the Sri Lankan sports minister said the Lankan govt will provide Tharanga with a new set of javelins, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was quoted by News Wire, a news outlet from the island nation. “Our govt will continue to stand behind our athletics star and his Olympic dream,” the minister said. “The govt is also considering seeking compensation from the airline over the damage, while looking into possible legal and diplomatic measures,” according to the ministry.Pathirage, who won the bronze with a best of 84.34m at Neeraj Chopra Classic at Sree Kanteerava Stadium here in July last year, has improved by leaps and bounds this year. He won the Diamond League finals, beating the likes of 2012 London Olympics and 2025 World champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago.He won five Diamond League meets, and one of his rare defeats came in May, when he finished second to Anderson Peters of Grenada in Rabat. Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were expected to be the big battle between Pathirage, Olympic champion Nadeem and India’s superstar Neeraj Chopra and Yash Vir Singh to grab the gold. The battle between Chopra, Nadeem and Pathirage was expected to resume at the Asiad in Paloha Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya. But with Chopra forced to end his season due to injury and Arshad not in great form either, the Sri Lankan will start as the overwhelming favourite.
