Rumesh Tharanga Secures Gold at Indian Open and Direct Qualification for 2025 World Athletics Championship

Sri Lanka men’s 4×400m relay team

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka’s national javelin champion, Rumesh Tharanga, won the gold medal yesterday (10) at the 1st Indian Open, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze-level event, held in India, with an impressive throw of 86.50 meters. 

This achievement not only secured him the top podium spot but also earned him direct qualification for the upcoming IAAF World Athletics Championship 2025, as he surpassed the men’s javelin qualification mark of 85.50 meters.

The event, which brought together invited athletes from several countries, took place at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, with Sri Lanka represented by seven male and two female athletes.

Tharanga becomes the second Sri Lankan male javelin thrower to qualify for the 2025 World Championships, following Olympian Sumeda Ranasinghe, who had already secured his place earlier. In the same event, Sumeda Ranasinghe won the bronze medal with a throw of 80.65 meters. Tharanga’s performance also exceeded the existing Sri Lanka national record of 85.78 meters in men’s javelin. 

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s men’s 4×400m relay team—Omel de Silva, Sadew Rajakaruna, Inesh Dismitha, and Kalhara Indupa Silva—won gold with a time of 3:08.22 minutes. National-level sprinter Chamod Yodasingha clinched the gold in the men’s 100m sprint, clocking 10.43 seconds, while women’s javelin thrower Dilani Lekamge secured silver with a throw of 54.96 meters.