Sri Lankan javelin star Rumesh Tharanga Phatirage suffered a big blow in the lead-up to the upcoming Asian Games as 2026 as five of his javelins were broken and damaged on a flight back to Colombo, the Olympics website reported.

The 23-year-old won gold in the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Hungary, on Sunday, and was returning home from Budapest by air.

“All five of my winning javelins were damaged inside the aircraft. I was trying to use them at the upcoming Asian Games, the 2028 Olympics and the World Championship,” Rumesh said.

Pathirage has breached the 90m mark thrice this year, most recently in Budapest, where he cleared the field with his winning 91.09m throw. All three of these throws came from javelins that have been compromised during the flight.

Pathirage trumped Indian javeline ace Neeraj Chopra for gold in both the Commonwealth games, as well as the Zurich Diamond League in August, where he produced a 92.07m throw.

He first breached the 90m mark at the Rome Diamond League in June, in a 92.62m attempt that still remains unbeaten for the year.

Pathirage has won in all but one of the 13 competitions he has competed at this year, and despite the misfortune, remains a strong favourite at the Asian Games scheduled in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19th.

The men’s javelin throw final in the Asian Games is set to take place on September 28, 2026.