Meet Annu Rani, First Indian Woman In World Javelin Throw Finals

At the World Championship on Monday, Annu Rani rewrote her own history, entered Javelin Throw final as the spear reached a distance of 62.43m. Following the throw she became the first woman from the country to qualify for the Javelin final in the World Championships. Rani bettered her own national record after showing a much-improved technique in a span of seven months. She threw her last best shot at the Federation Cup in March where she went to a distance of 62.34m.

Key Takeaways:

• Annu Rani recorded a distance of 62.43m in her second throw, bettering her earlier national record of 62.34m. 
• Annu recorded personal best national throw with an attempt of 62.43m to become the first woman from the country to qualify for the javelin final in the World Championships.
• Her last best shot was to a distance of 62.34m at the Federation Cup in March

Annu’s best throw came in her second attempt. After the throw she grabbed fifth spot overall in the qualification round. The 27-year-old has seemed strongly competitive this season after her Asian Games disappointment where she failed to even cross the 55m mark.

READ: Exclusive: My Challenge Is To Be Fit And To Play Injury Free: Rutuja Bhosale

She will now attempt to win gold at the Worlds competing with 11 other athletes. Here are a few things you should know about her before catching the finals later this evening:

Born into a farmer family in Bahadarpur, a village Uttar Pradesh, Annu was inspired and encouraged by her brother, Upendra, who noticed her upper body strength during a cricket game.

She comes from a family of farmers

Born into a farmer family in Bahadarpur, a village Uttar Pradesh, Annu was inspired and encouraged by her brother, Upendra, who noticed her upper body strength during a cricket game. After a few training and trials, Annu picked up a long piece of bamboo and hit her first javelin throw. Seeing the potential in her, her brother paid for her training even though her father disapproved of girls taking up sports. “The girls in our village have to work a lot and then are married early. I did not want that sort of life for me, I wanted to leave the village, go out and do something big,” she said, Scroll.in reported. Annu convinced him with her talent after she broke the national record in 2014, and now her father is one of her biggest supporters.

“We know that it is really tough to bag a medal at the Championships but it’s our job to hope and pray. We are really proud of her achievement. She called me a while back and said she was feeling really good about the throw and is confident of putting up a better show in the final,” Upendra, a farmer, told The Indian Express.

From Athletics World Champions to Worlds

Annu is currently supported by Olympic Gold Quest, a non-profit organisation which supports Indian athletes. She was qualified for the Athletics World Champions in London in 2017 – also the first Indian woman to have achieved this feat. On her way to the Worlds, she broke her own national record and brought home the gold medal at the Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships. She recorded a throw of 61.86m to secure her place at the London event. The qualifying mark for the World Championships is 61.40m and World No 15 Rani is the first Indian woman to cross the 60m mark.

“There are small things which need to be kept in mind. The knees, shoulder, hip and the throwing arm needs to be aligned in a perfect manner. I had the issue of lowering my throwing arm and then almost freezing it before release. This resulted in me unable to use all my power. Actually, power or strength is not an issue for me but it is my technique,” Annu had said in March.

Annu is a proud athlete with five national records in a just span of last three years. The 27-year-old broke the national record with a 58.83 m throw at the National Inter-State Championship in 2014.

Past achievements

Annu is a proud athlete with five national records in a just span of last three years. The 27-year-old broke the national record with a 58.83 m throw at the National Inter-State Championship in 2014. Later in the same year, she won the bronze medal at Asian Games in Incheon with a throw of 59.53 meters. In the process she again bettered her record. In 2016, she crossed the 60m barrier with a 60.01m throw at the Open National Athletics Championships. In 2017, she crossed the 61m-mark. Her personal best during training is a brilliant 63m.

Her most recent achievements include a silver medal at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Qatar in 2019. She also won a bronze medal at IAAF World Challenge event held in Czech Republic.

Feature Image Credit: The Indian Express

Read More Stories By Ria Das