Ex-Sri Lanka Fast Bowler Defeats India's Golden Boy Neeraj Chopra To Clinch Gold

In the world of sports, the main spotlight is on cricket with international cricket and Women's T20 World Cup being underway, as well as Football with FIFA 2026 in action. However, there has been another sporting event that took place amid all, the Doha Diamond League, where the world's best javelin throwers compete against each other.

In this Doha Diamond League 2026, India's only hope was the Golden Boy, Neeraj Chopra. However, he failed to meet the expectations of the fans but failed to qualify for the final round as Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage came in his red-hot form with 88.68m throw, which was more than Neeraj's 85.69m throw. But a small thing that fascinated fans was that Rumesh Pathirage was a former Sri Lankan cricketer. Let's find out Rumesh Pathirage relation with cricket.

Sri Lanka Cricketer Javelin Gold Medal Holder

Rumesh Pathirage cricket career started long before he turned to athletics and became a javelin thrower. He was just another kid from Sri Lanka who was fond of playing cricket, starting at the school level in 2012 and playing till 2017, during which he was considered one of the fastest bowlers in the U18 category, easily clocking 134 kph.

This young kid had a future in cricket if he continued to play this sport. During the nationwide fast-bowling talent hunt for under-18 players, he became the second-fastest bowler in his category, where Sri Lanka star bowler and Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler, Eshan Malinga, was spotted, and Rumesh Pathirage was just behind him. If he had played and been groomed under the best coaches, he could have become one of the best bowlers in the world, but destiny was different; he went on to become the first-ever Sri Lankan male javelin thrower to qualify for the World Championship finals.

Previous Instances of Javelin Thrower and Cricket

The link between cricket and javelin throw comes from the same kind of skill, strong and explosive shoulder power. For example, Arshad Nadeem, who won Olympic gold in 2024, started as a fast bowler at the junior level before moving to athletics.

In women’s cricket, the connection is clear as well, where Sunette Viljoen, an Olympic silver medalist, also played cricket for South Africa. Current cricketers like Tazmin Brits and Hayley Matthews were also javelin champions at the junior level before making their mark in cricket.