Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga becomes fourth Asian to break 90m mark in Javelin; sets new national record

 
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage produced a stunning performance at the Rome Diamond League, becoming the fourth Asian athlete to breach the 90 metre mark as he won the men’s javelin event with a world-leading throw of 92.62 metres.
The 23-year-old’s effort placed him second on the Asian all-time list, behind Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, whose 92.97m throw at the Paris Olympics remains the continental record. India’s Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra is also among the elite Asian throwers to have crossed the 90m barrier, alongside Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Chao-Tsun.
Pathirage’s throw set a new Sri Lankan national record, broke the Rome Diamond League meet record and moved him to eighth on the world all-time list. India’s Sachin Yadav finished eighth on his Diamond League debut with a best throw of 79.18m.