World Athletics Championships 2025 Day 7 Wrap: No medal as Annu Rani misses javelin final; Gulveer Singh finished 9th in men's 5000m heats

India are yet to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships 2025.

For the first time since 2021, India will return from the World Athletics Championships without a medal.

After Neeraj Chopra’s disappointment in the men’s javelin final on Thursday and Sachin Yadav’s heartbreaking fourth-place finish, Gulveer Singh endured yet another close finish in men’s 5000m heats while Annu Rani failed to even make the women’s javelin final.

Long distance runner Gulveer and women’s javelin thrower Annu Rani were India’s only representatives on Day 7 in Tokyo, and both failed to reach the medal round in their respective events—the former missing by just 19 milliseconds.

Annu Rani, reigning Asian Games champion, needed to throw 62.50m to earn direct qualification and be among the top 12 throwers to enter the final. She had a season best of 62.59m prior to the start of the event.

However, the 33-year-old looked far from best. Annu started with a below-par 54.54m throw, placing her 10th after the first round. She managed 55.18m in her second attempt but slipped further down the standings.

Also Read: India at World Athletics Championships 2025 Day 7 Highlights & Replay

Only the top 12 advance to the fourth round, therefore, Annu needed a big third throw to stay in contention but fell short again with 55.10m in the third.

Annu Rani fails to qualify for women's javelin throw final! ❌With a best attempt of 55.18m and 15th place in qualification, Annu finished well short of the automatic qualifying mark (62.50m).Her best throw is also not enough to place her inside top 12.#WCHTokyo25… pic.twitter.com/AWg2MpQmzo

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) September 19, 2025

She finished 29th overall and 15th in her heats, well below the automatic qualification mark of 62.50m and her own season-best of 62.59m set in August earlier this year.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 5000m, Gulveer Singh was placed in Heat 2, where only the top eight runners qualified for the final. Hopes were high on the 27-year-old Indian long-distance runner, who won two gold medals at the Asian Championships 2025 both in 5000m and 10,000m in Gumi.

Also Read: Neeraj Chopra injury revealed: AFI confirms javelin ace was not fully fit during final – Report

Here in Tokyo, he gave a spirited fight but missed out by the narrowest of margins, finishing ninth with 13:42.34s. Defending Olympic and World Champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, produced a late surge to secure the last qualifying spot with 13:42.15—just 0.19 seconds ahead of Singh.

A close miss for Gulveer Singh!! 💔He finishes 9th in men's 5000m heats after being in the qualification spots for most of the race.Only the top 8 from each heat qualified for the final. 😢#WCHTokyo25 #Athletics pic.twitter.com/8pKGd7FA5V

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) September 19, 2025

Gulveer had also participated in the men’s 10,000m final where he finished 16th with a time of 29:13.33s.

India’s chance for a medal suffered a huge setback on the sixth day when the defending champion Neeraj Chopra could not make it to the podium of men’s javelin. He finished eighth with the best throw of 84.03m. Sachin Yadav ignited hopes, but he missed the bronze by just 40cm with his career personal best throw of 86.26m.

World Athletics Championships 2025 Day 7 India results

Women’s Javelin Qualification

• Annu Rani finished 15th in Group A with best throw of 55.18m (did not qualify for final)

Men’s 5000m Heats

• Gulveer Singh finished 9th place in Heat 2, clocking 13:42.34s (missed qualification by 0.19s)

India’s Day 8 schedule with event timings

• 6:25 AM: Servin Sebastian (Men’s 20km Race Walk Final)

With Annu and Gulveer bowing out, only one Indian athlete remains in contention, Servin Sebastian. He will compete in the men’s 20km race walk final.

The 25-year-old is in strong form, having won bronze at the 2025 Asian Championships with a personal best of 1:21.14s, which also gave India its first medal in the event.

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