Tharanga bags Gold at Asian Throwing Meet

Rumesh Tharanga and Sumedha Ranasinghe 

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka’s up-and-coming athlete Rumesh Tharanga established a new meet and Sri Lanka record with a throw of 85.45m in the Men’s javelin throw event to win the Gold Medal at the Asian Throwing Championships held in South Korea.

Tharanga shattered the previous mark of 83.04m but missed the Olympic Qualification by just five centimetres, as the required level for Olympic Qualification is 85.50m.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Sumedha Ranasinghe threw the javelin 77.57m to finish in third place and win a Bronze Medal.

The Silver Medal was won by M. Yasir of Pakistan with a throw of 78.10m.

In addition, Sri Lanka’s leading women’s thrower and Asian champion Dilhani Lekamge won the Bronze Medal with a throw of 57.94m. Sri Lanka finished the Asian Throwing Championships with one Gold Medal and two Bronze Medals.

The other athlete who participated in this meet, Diana Harshani, secured seventh place with a seasonal best effort of 48.46m in the Women’s javelin throw event.