Recently, an incident happened with Sri Lankan javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga which caught the attention of the sports world. 23-year-old Tharanga, who was returning to his country after winning the gold medal in the World Athletics Championship, broke his spear due to the negligence of the airline. After this incident came to light, there was a lot of anger among sports lovers and their fans, because these spears are the most important part of the success of any athlete.
Tharanga suffered huge loss
When he was returning to Sri Lanka after winning the gold medal with a throw of 91.09 meters in the World Ultimate Championship held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, his spear was heavily damaged in the Turkish Airlines plane during transit. Tharanga expressed his dissatisfaction with the airline by sharing a picture of the broken spears on Instagram. Taking a dig at this situation, he wrote Bad Luck and then Thank You Turkish Airlines on the photo.
Statement of Sri Lankan Sports Minister
Sri Lankan Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage has also confirmed the matter. He informed that a total of five spears of Tharanga were damaged during the journey. He further said, ‘Our government will stand firmly with our athletics stars and their Olympic dreams.’ The Sports Minister clarified that in order to provide new and better equipment to the athletes, the government itself will bear the entire cost of the loss of javelins.
2026 was great for Tharanga
Rumesh Tharanga is currently in great form and is continuously achieving big successes in the year 2026. He reached number one in the world by throwing a national record of 92.62 meters during the Golden Gala held in Rome in June 2026. Apart from this, he has also won gold medals in prestigious competitions like Commonwealth Games and Diamond League by defeating strong contenders from India and other countries.
Despite this incident, Tharanga’s next goal is to represent the country in the upcoming Asian Games. His biggest dream is to win the first historic gold medal for Sri Lanka in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.