92.62m monster! Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga beats Neeraj Chopra to record second longest javelin throw in Asia – Watch

Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage of Sri Lanka attempts the men’s javelin during the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League athletics meeting in Rome, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo) Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage produced the second-best javelin throw ever by an Asian athlete, edging out both Chinese Taipei’s Chao-Tsun Cheng and Neeraj Chopra with 92.62m to win the Diamond League meet in Rome on Thursday.His throw now trails only Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem’s 92.97 m from Paris 2024 in the Asian all-time list.While Pathirage grabbed the headlines, India’s Sachin Yadav had a tough Diamond League debut, finishing eighth in the 10-man field with a best throw of 79.18m.The 26-year-old’s effort was well below his personal best of 86.27m, which he achieved in fourth place at the 2025 World Championships. His season best remains 81.95m, recorded when he finished second at the Indian Athletics Series 3 in New Delhi in April.Yadav started with a foul and followed with throws of 79.18m, 77.02m, 76.62m and 75.54m. He finished in eighth place after five attempts. Only the top three athletes after the fifth round were allowed a sixth and final throw.Pathirage broke the 90m mark for the first time in his career with a performance of 92.62m in the second round. The throw surpassed Cheng’s 91.36m and Chopra’s 90.23m to become the second best Asian player in history. He also became only the fourth Asian and the 28th athlete overall to throw over 90 meters.The Sri Lankan entered the competition as the season’s world leader with 89.37 mz from the home event in March. Thursday’s win was also his first Diamond League title.The 2026 season was a breakthrough year for Pathirage. He finished second at the Rabat Diamond League on 31 May with 85.97m and earlier won the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi with 89.28m.

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For Yadav, the Rome event was the first international competition since finishing fourth at the 2025 World Championships.Two-time world champion and Paris Olympic bronze medalist Anderson Peters finished second with 83.91m, while American thrower Curtis Thompson was third with 83.89m.World champion Keshorn Walcott finished fourth with 83.45m.Chopra, who is training in Bienne, Switzerland after a stint in Turkiye, did not compete in Rome. It is not yet known when he will start the season.The next meeting of the Diamond League men’s javelin will be held in Doha on June 19. The event was originally scheduled for May 8, but was postponed due to the conflict in West Asia.