Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage won javelin gold at the Asian Games in Nagoya on Monday, launching a best throw of 88.55 metres to claim yet another title in a remarkable season.

The 23-year-old started slowly and saved his best effort for his final attempt in torrential rain. “I couldn’t get a massive throw. The grip was not good,” he said. India’s Yashvir Singh took silver with 85.72m, followed by compatriot Rohit Yadav with 84.35m. Pakistan’s reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, holder of the Asian record of 92.97m, finished fourth with 80.29m.

India’s Neeraj Chopra was unable to defend his Asian Games title because of injury.

Pathirage arrived in Nagoya after discovering that all five of his javelins had snapped in transit from the Ultimate Championship in Budapest. “It’s not a problem. I can throw any javelin,” he said.

He has taken the javelin world by storm this year, winning the Commonwealth Games, the Diamond League and the Ultimate Championship. He threw a world-leading 92.62m in Rome in June and 92.07m in Zurich, becoming only the fourth man in history to exceed 92m twice. His next target is the 2027 world championships in China, followed by the Los Angeles Olympics.