Sri Lanka's Ramesh Tharanga Pathiraj Wins Javelin Gold at Commonwealth Games

Kathmandu. Sri Lanka's Ramesh Tharanga Pathiraj has created history by winning the gold medal in the javelin throw competition at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. With this victory, Sri Lanka has succeeded in winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal for the first time in athletics. The 23-year-old Pathiraj achieved historic success by surpassing Pakistan's Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem and India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra in the final. In the final held in Glasgow, Pathiraj threw the javelin 89.75 meters. Although he managed only one valid throw out of the first five attempts, that performance was enough to win the gold medal. Nadeem, the gold medalist of the Paris Olympics-2024 and the defending champion, was eliminated from the competition after three attempts, contrary to expectations. India's Chopra made an excellent comeback after a season affected by injury, winning the silver medal with a season-best performance of 85.83 meters. India's Yashveer Singh won the bronze medal with a personal best performance of 85.41 meters. Five of the athletes competing in the final had previously thrown the javelin more than 90 meters in their careers. Among them was World Champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago. However, he could not perform as expected. Walcott threw the javelin only 82.55 meters, settling for sixth place. Pathiraj's sports career did not start with athletics. He started with cricket. A fast bowler in his youth, he used to bowl at a speed of 134 kilometers per hour. But later, Pathiraj chose athletics and has now proven his decision right by giving Sri Lanka a historic gold in athletics.