Interesting fact about Sri Lanka's former fast bowler winning Commonwealth Games 2026 Javelin Gold medal

The former U-16 fast bowler of Sri Lanka, Rumesh Pathirage Tharanga, produced a superb throw of 89.75m to clinch the Commonwealth Games 2026 gold medal, defeating the double Olympic medallist and the former World Champion, Neeraj Chopra. Along with Neeraj, he bested the field of reigning World Champion Keshorn Walcott. 

While competing in windy conditions, Pathirage recorded only one throw. But it was enough as Neeraj won the second-ranked silver medal with the 85.83m while another Indian, Yashvir Singh, earned the bronze medal with a personal best of 85.41m.

Who is Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage? The former Sri Lanka pacer who once rivalled Eshan Malinga's Pace

Ramesh used to be a medium pacer who turned a thrower as he trained under his coach, Tony Prasanna. In his early days, he used to bowl at 130 kph and nudged the speed gun to 134 kph in the U18 category.

“It was coach Tony who introduced me to javelin. He always tells me that if I master the basics and do them the right way, I will eventually reap the rewards. He is more than a coach. He doesn’t just teach me the sport but about life as well.” Rumesh revealed in an early interaction with The Indian Express.

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Rumesh finished second in terms of speed to Eshan Malinga, the current Sri Lankan pacer, who recently featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

“I had a successful season last year and finished seventh in my very first World Championships. Because of that, I am trying to push myself to achieve even more this season.” He added.

How Pathirage beat Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem to Javelin Gold at Glasgow 2026

It wasn’t an expected result as the Sri Lankan is the best Javelin thrower in the world by a distance. He has a world record of 92.62m and has won most of the competitions he has participated in.

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At the Rome Diamond League, he became the first javelin thrower to cross the 90m mark in the 2026 season as the 23-year-old threw a massive distance of 92.62m in the Diamond League to set a new meet record and take the world lead.

Sri Lanka's Biggest Commonwealth Games moment in two decades — Fans react to historic Gold

The fans have reacted to the historic moment of the Sri Lankan winning the medal in the Commonwealth Games 2026 on social media platforms-