BD NarayankarBengaluru, July 30 -- Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra may still start as the man to beat in Friday's Commonwealth Games men's javelin final, but Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage has ensured the race for gold is no longer a familiar India-Pakistan duel.
Pathirage's chart-topping throw of 82.84 metres in qualification has reshaped the narrative ahead of the final, transforming what was expected to be another chapter in the Neeraj-Arshad rivalry into one of the most open javelin contests at the Games.
If India drew confidence from qualifying all three of its throwers for the 12-man final, Sri Lanka found belief in Pathirage's emergence as a genuine gold-medal contender. Grenada's Anderson Peters, a two-time world champion, a...