New Delhi, September 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Sri Lankan javelin star Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage returned home from Hungary with an unfortunate setback after four of his specialised competition javelins were damaged during his flight following his historic World Athletics Ultimate Championship victory.
Pathirage shared pictures of the damaged equipment on his Instagram Story, captioning one post “bad luck”. In another post, he appeared to criticise the airline, writing “Thank You Turkish Airlines” alongside a broken-heart emoji.
According to Sri Lanka’s Newswire, a complaint has been lodged with the airline over the incident. Pathirage said three of the javelins he had used extensively were damaged.
“All three javelins I used for over 90 throws have been damaged. It might have been a mistake by the airline, but that’s how it is. It’s not a big issue. I’ll move on,” he was quoted as saying.
The equipment damage came just days after Pathirage capped a remarkable breakthrough season by winning the men’s javelin title at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest with a throw of 91.09 metres on Sunday. The victory earned him a USD 150,000 prize, worth nearly LKR 50 million.
His winning throw marked the third time this season that Pathirage had surpassed 90 metres. He set a Sri Lankan national record of 92.62 metres in Rome in June before producing a 92.07-metre effort to win the Zurich Diamond League last month.
Pathirage has dominated the event this year, winning 11 of his 12 competitions before Budapest. His season also includes a Commonwealth Games title and Diamond League victories in Rome, Doha, Lausanne and Zurich. He subsequently became the first Sri Lankan to win the Diamond League Final.
His performances in Rome and Zurich also propelled him to the top of the world rankings, underlining his status as one of the leading javelin throwers of the season.
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