Annu Rani

Annu Rani (born 29 August 1992 in Meerut[1]) is an Indian javelin thrower and is the current national record holder, with a record of 62.34m in March 2019.[2] She was the first Indian woman to cross a distance of 60m in javelin throw, and has broken the national record multiple times.[3]

Annu Rani
Rani during 22nd Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar
Personal information
Nationality India
Born (1992-08-28) 28 August 1992
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb) (2014)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Javelin throw
TeamIndia
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)62.43 meters
(IAAF 2019) NR
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  India
Asian Games
2014 IncheonJavelin
Asian Championships
2017 BhubaneswarJavelin
2019 DohaJavelin
South Asian Games
2016 GuwahatiJavelin

Early life

Annu was born on 28 August 1992, into a farmer family in the Bahadurpur, Meerut.[4] Her talent was identified by her brother, who noticed her upper body strength during a cricket game. He began to train her by asking her to hurl sugarcane sticks in an empty field. Annu's first javelin stick was one that she crafted herself from a long piece of bamboo, because she couldn't afford one. Her brother later began to pay for her training as well, despite her father's disapproval at girls pursuing sports. He finally came around to supporting Annu's talent after she proved herself by breaking the national record in 2014, and now supports her ambition.[5][4]

Career

Annu Rani was initially coached by Kashinath Naik and is now coached by Baljeet Singh.

Rani, with a throw of 58.83 metres (193.0 ft) at the 2014 National Inter-State Championship in Lucknow, broke the national record previously held by Gurmeet Kaur in 2000.[6] With this throw, she qualified for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, with the selection criteria being 58.46 metres. At the event, she finished eighth, with a best of 56.37 meters in the final. In the same year, at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, she won the bronze medal with a throw of 59.53 meters, bettering her own national record. After this, she broke her own record at the 56th National Open Athletics Championships in September 2016 with a throw of 60.01 meters.[4] In March 2019, she broke her own record again with a throw of 62.34 meters at the Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala, Punjab.[2]

In 2014, she won the bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, with a throw of 59.53m.[7]

In Bhubaneswar in Odisha at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships Rani took a bronze medal with a throw of 57.32m.[8]

Her most recent achievements include her silver medal win in the women's javelin throw event at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Qatar on 21 April, 2019 and her bronze medal win at IAAF World Challenge event called Ostrava Golden Spike Athletics Meet, held in Ostrava, Czech Republic[9].

References
  1. 2014 CWG profile
  2. India, Press Trust of. "Fed Cup athletics: Annu Rani rewrites her own Javelin Throw national record, qualifies for Worlds". Scroll.in. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  3. nikhil (27 June 2017). "Annu Rani - The Torchbearer for Indian Women in Athletics Javelin Throw". Voice of Indian Sports - KreedOn. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  4. nikhil (27 June 2017). "Annu Rani - The Torchbearer for Indian Women in Athletics Javelin Throw". Voice of Indian Sports - KreedOn. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  5. "Annu Rani's Quest For Gold - Impact Guru". www.impactguru.com. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  6. "Annu Rani rewrites javelin record". The Hindu. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  7. "Asiad: Annu Rani wins women's javelin bronze". Inshorts - Stay Informed. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  8. "My Body Was Not In Form Says Javelin Thrower Annu Rani". deccanchronicle.com/. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  9. Sportstar, Team. "Javelin: Bronze for Annu Rani at IAAF event". Sportstar. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
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