Rumesh Pathirage raises the bar again, Neeraj Chopra prepares for another Test

NEW DELHI: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage’s sensational season has reached the next round and for India’s Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra, the journey to the Diamond League and Asian Games finals now comes with an unmistakable warning.The Sri Lankan javelin star hit a breathtaking 92.07m in Zurich on Thursday to underline why he has become the man to beat this season. It was his second throw over 92m in 2026 after his world national record of 92.62m in Rome in June.The Zurich effort also put Pathirage in rare company. He is only the fourth javelin thrower in history to break the 92 m barrier twice, joining legendary names such as Jan Železný, Johannes Vetter and Aki Parviainen.Pathirage had to work his way into the competition in Zurich. He opened with 81.50m, improved to 88.23m in the second round and reached 89.90m in the third. After 84.91m in the fourth round and a foul in the fifth, he landed the knockout blow on the last throw.Former world champion Anderson Peters finished second with a season’s best of 86.93m, while Poland’s Dawid Wegner finished third with a personal best of 85.16m.The win was the next chapter in Pathirage’s extraordinary campaign in 2026. The 23-year-old has now won 11 of his 12 contests this year, including his last six. After exploding in Rome, he won in Ostrava and the Doha Diamond League before making history in Glasgow as Sri Lanka’s first Commonwealth Games javelin champion.In the Diamond League in Lausanne, he then surpassed Chopr and won with a performance of 88.14 m, i.e. only nine centimeters better than the Indian’s 88.05 m. This was Chopr’s best performance of the season.Chopra, a two-time Olympic medallist, skipped Zurich but still qualified for the Diamond League finals in Brussels as the sixth thrower. Showdown at the end of the season 4.-5. September now marks the next big Pathirage-Chopra clash.And that’s a rivalry that could soon carry even more weight. After Brussels, both stars will have the Asian Games on their radar.For Chopra, the challenge is clear: Pathirage is no longer just a rising contender. With consistency, distance and an extraordinary winning streak behind him, the Sri Lankan has turned into a benchmark.Zurich only reinforced this message and Chopra is under increasing pressure. The emergence of the Pathirage has changed the landscape of javelin throwing, making every meeting with the Indian a potential season-defining match for both.