Mokpo (Korea) – 15 June2024:
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage emerged as a new star in the Asian throwing circle after sending the spear to a whopping distance of 85.45m to win the men’s javelin throw in the 2nd edition of the Asian Throwing Championships, which was held in the Korean city of Mokpo for the second successive year.
It was a tremendous improvement for the 21-year-old islander from his previous best of 77.83m logged in the Lankan capital last year. In that process, he erased his compatriot Sumedha Ranasinghe’s nine-year-old national record (83.04m) from the books. However, his fine effort today went in vain as it was 5 cm short of a direct cut to the Paris Olympics. Sumedha (33) finishes third today with a mark of 77.57m.
As of date, only 15 Asian javelin throwers have breached the 85m mark, and Pathirage joined the “elite club” after his Mokpo effect! There are two ways to qualify for this summer’s Olympic Games inParis. A throw of 85.50m and above ensures a “direct” qualification and a top-flight finish in the “WorldAthletics Rankings” opened the other gate. To gain a ticket through the second route, an athlete must log at least five decent marks during the qualification period, which ends on June30.
The reigning Olympic and World champion Neeraj Chopra, his Indian compatriot and Hangzhou Asian Games silver medalist Kishore Kumar Jena, and Pakistan’s 2023 World championships silver medalist Arshad Nadeem are the three Asian athletes who made the direct cut to the Paris Games so far.
Nadeem won the 2022 Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham with a huge 90.18m and became only the second Asian thrower to register the 90+ mark. In Nadeem’s absence, Muhammad Yasir took part in Mokpo and pocketed the silver with 78.10m. Cheng Chao-Tsun from Chinese Taipei, holding the Asian Record at 91.36m, could muster only a paltry 69.91m here to land in eighth place.
In the women’s javelin, Japan’s Momone Ueda successfully defended her title from last year by throwing to 61.32m. China’s 2023 World University Games silver medalist Su Lingdan took the silver in 60.06m, and Sri Lankan Nadeesh Dilhani Lekamge took home the bronze in 57.94m. In a big surprise, Lyu Huihui, the multiple world championships medalist, finished outside the podium in fourth place as she could manage only 56.11m today.
The Championships were inaugurated on Friday (June 14), with six finals held on the opening day in shot, discus, and hammer throws. In the women’s shot put, China’s Zhang Linru (17.86m) pushed her teammate and defending champion Sun Yue (17.63m) to the second. The Asian indoor silver medalist Malika Nasriddinova from Uzbekistan filled the podium with 17.06m.
After a close combat, the men’s podium was shared within 5 cm. Iranian Mehdi Saberi won the gold medal in 19.27m, while China’s Zizhong missed it by just one cm (19.26m). Filippino William Edward Morrison claimed the bronze in 19.22m.
Iran won another gold through reigning Asian Games champion Hossein Rsaouli (59.04m). Qatar’s Moaaz Mohamed Ibrahim lost the top position by just 6 cm, while China’s Adbuduaini Tuergong was third at 58.63m. China, however, won the women’s title through Jiang Zhichao (59.09m), while the Japanese pair of Nanaka Kori (55.33m) and Maki Saito (54.73m) took the other two medals in this event.
The Chinese were top in the hammer throw as Wang Qi (74.01m) and Ji Li (70.20m) took the titles in men’s and women’s divisions, respectively. Qi took every major title last year, crowned victorious in the 2023 Asian Championships, Asian Games, and the World University Games. He continued his winning streak with yet another gold in Mokpo. Japan’s Shota Fukuda, the defending champion in the men’s category, fails to retain his title in just 10 cm.
Overall, it was a memorable outing for Asia’s throwing community, who enjoyed the fantastic hospitality on Korean soil for the past couple of days.
Ram. Murali Krishnan for Asian Athletics
