COLOMBO: Sri Lankan javelin thrower Rumesh Pathirage has suffered a setback ahead of the upcoming Asian Games after five of his "winning" javelins were damaged in air travel.

The 23-year-old was returning to Sri Lanka from Budapest after competing at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship on September 13 on a Turkish airline flight.

"All five of my winning javelins were damaged inside the aircraft. I was trying to use them at the upcoming Asian Games, the 2028 Olympics and the World Championship," Pathirage said.

He said he had lodged a complaint with Turkish Airlines.

The Sri Lankan, who is enjoying a breakout season, has breached the 90m mark three times this year. All three of those throws came with the javelins that were damaged.

In July, Pathirage beat two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra to win Sri Lanka’s first athletics gold since 1950 at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The Sri Lankan has won 11 of his last 12 international competitions, including the Diamond League Final in Brussels earlier this month. He is the favourite to win gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, starting on Saturday.