New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Sri Lankan javelin star Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage's homecoming after winning the World Athletics Ultimate Championship was marked by an unfortunate setback as four of his specialised competition javelins were damaged during his return flight from Hungary.

Pathirage shared pictures of his damaged javelins on his Instagram story, with a caption "bad luck". In another story, he also slammed the airlines and wrote, "Thank You Turkish Airlines" with a broken heat emoji.

As per Sri Lanka's Newswire, a complaint has been lodged with the airline over the incident. "All three javelins I used for over 90 throws have been damaged. It might have been a mistake by the airline, but that’s how it is. It’s not a big issue. I’ll move on,” Pathirage was quoted as saying.

Pathirage capped a stunning breakthrough season to win the men’s javelin at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship with a 91.09m effort in Budapest on Sunday. The triumph earned him a prize of USD 150,000, equivalent to nearly Sri Lakan rupess (LKR) 50 million.

His 91.09m throw was the third time he had crossed the 90 metre mark this season – setting a Sri Lankan national record of 92.62m in Rome in June, and 92.07m to win the Zurich Diamond League last month.

He has been the dominant force in the discipline this year, winning 11 of his 12 competitions before heading to Budapest. His latest victory added another major prize to a remarkable season. He won the Commonwealth Games title and dominated the Diamond League circuit with victories in Rome, Doha, Lausanne and Zurich before becoming the first Sri Lankan to win the Diamond League Final.

Prior to winning the Diamond League Final, he had thrown a world-leading 92.62m in Rome and backed it up with a 92.07m victory in Zurich, that propelled him to the top of the world rankings this season.

--IANS

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