Sri Lanka, May 31 -- Sri Lankan javelin throwers Sumedha Ranasinghe and Rumesh Tharanga qualified for men's javelin throw final at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships held in Gumi, South Korea yesterday.

Rumesh Tharanga recorded an impressive throw of 83.71 metres, while Olympian and national record holder Sumedha Ranasinghe cleared 81.33 metres, earning their places among the top 12 finalists.

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, the Olympic gold medallist, led the qualifiers with a distance of 86.34 metres. The top four throwers from the round were: Arshad Nadeem (86.34m), Rumesh Tharanga (83.71m), Japan's Yuto Sakiyama (81.36m), and Sumedha Ranasinghe (81.33m).

Arshad, who won Pakistan's first-ever individual Olympic gold and threw 92.97m a...