Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka wins javelin at Asian Games and credits cricket background

NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — The javelin is often overlooked by casual fans of track and field, but it's a gold-medal specialty in South Asia — specifically for India, Pakistan and now Sri Lanka.

The newest star is Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka, who won the event Monday at the Asian Games under a light drizzle with a throw of 88.55 meters. Yashvir Singh of India took silver (85.14) with bronze for fellow Indian Rohit Yadav (84.35).

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Defending Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan was fourth (80.29).

Pathirage credited some of his success in the javelin to being a cricket fast bowler in his youth, which requires an overhead arm movement similar to throwing the javelin.

"That's the bowling action, same like in the javelin throw," Pathirage said. "Cricket is the help for me and the career."

Of course, cricket is the dominant sport in all of South Asia, which might explain the recent success from athletes in the region.

The addition of foreign coaching has also been mentioned as India looks to bid for the 2036 Olympics and up its profile with Qatar seeming to be he chief rival.

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Pathirage is the top thrower this season including a victory in the recent World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary.

South Asia has seldom delivered gold in the Olympics or other big track meets, but the javelin is different.

Neeraj Chopra of India took gold in the Tokyo Olympics — delayed by the pandemic until 2021. Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan won two years ago in the Paris Olympics. And now it's Pathirage, the No. 1 thrower this season with a personal-best of 92.62.

Despite recent success in the javelin, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been almost invisible at the Olympics.

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India has won only 10 gold medals dating from the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, eight of them in field hockey. The last Olympic gold was Chopra's in Tokyo. He is out this season with an ankle injury.

Pakistan has only four gold medals in all Olympics, the last was Nadeem's in Paris two years ago.

And Sri Lanka has never won Olympic gold.

That gold-medal scarcity is sure to end when cricket enters the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and again in 2032 in Brisbane, Australia. It's the only game that really in South Asia.

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SNTV video journalist Raj Mohan contributed to this report.

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