Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage won Asian Games javelin gold on Monday, finishing an extraordinary season with a best throw of 88.55 metres in Nagoya.
India’s Yashvir Singh took silver with a personal best of 85.72m, while compatriot Rohit Yadav claimed bronze with 84.35m. Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem finished fourth after managing 80.29m.
Pathirage made a difficult start, recording 73.53m with his opening attempt. It was the only throw below 80m he had produced throughout the season.
The 23-year-old recovered with 88.33m in the fourth round, moving ahead of the Indian pair and effectively securing the title. After a no-throw in his fifth attempt, he improved again with his final effort to seal the gold.
Pathirage adds Asian Games title to remarkable season
The victory completed a remarkable run for the world number one, who had won all but one of his competitions this year before arriving at the Asian Games.
His other major victories came at the Commonwealth Games, the Diamond League final and the inaugural Ultimate Championships in Budapest.
Pathirage has also become only the fourth thrower in history to exceed 92 metres in a single year. His 92.62m at the Rome Diamond League in June set a Sri Lankan national record and remains the world-leading throw this year, while he also won the Zurich Diamond League with 92.07m in August.
Earlier this month, Pathirage said he was targeting Arshad Nadeem’s Asian record of 92.97m, set at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
