Tharanga ranked 13 in the world, vies for top honours in India

Thrower Rumesh Tharanga has climbed up to the 13th position in the world rankings in the men's javelin throw according to the latest rankings updated by World Athletics. It is the highest position a Sri Lankan has reached after the introduction of the current world ranking system in 2019.

- BY REEMUS FERNANDO

While improving on the rankings he has also improved on the 'Road to Tokyo 25' rankings which determines the qualified athletes for the World Championships in September. With Tharanga and Sumeda Ranasinghe listed among the top 20 in that list there is going to be a heavy presence of South Asians in the javelin throw at the World Championships. That is a contrasting scenario as South Asians found it hard to earn qualifying standards for this discipline dominated by European athletes less than a decade ago.