Annu Rani finishes 7th at World Athletics Championships finals

She became the second Indian woman to finish in the top eight.

It is becoming an everyday scenario now that an Indian is qualifying for the finals and then getting eliminated after an ordinary performance. First, Murali Sreeshankar and Avinash Sable, and now Annu Rani. Javelin Thrower, Annu Rani, who qualified for the finals with an attempt of 59.60m, failed in the finals in Oregon on Saturday morning as she finished 7th.

With a day’s best throw of 61.12m, Rani finished in the top 8 which was not enough to seal a spot on the podium, but she became the second Indian woman after Anju Bobby George to have two top-8 finishes at the World Athletics Championships.

India's yet another final loss

Rani’s all attempts are as follows: 56.18, 61.12, 59.27, 58.14, 59.98, 58.70. Not to forget, she became India’s first-ever woman to qualify for the finals at the World Athletics Championships and she did it twice. She had finished 8th in the finals in the last edition held in Doha in 2019, though she could not qualify for the finals in London in the 2017 edition after finishing 10th in her qualifying group.

This year, Australia’s Kelsey-Lee Barber claimed gold with a splendid throw of 66.91m, while Kara Winger won silver with a throw of 64.05 in her final attempt. The bronze medal went to Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi, with a best throw of 63.27m. This was Japan’s first-ever global medal in the history of women’s javelin throwing.

Now for India, all hopes are with the remaining participants, including Neeraj Chopra, Rohit Yadav and Eldhose Paul, who have made it to the finals. The finals of the Javelin Throw and Triple Jump will take place on Sunday, which is also the last day of the World Championships.

Neeraj Chopra, whose first throw in the qualification round was enough to secure his spot in the finals, would be looking to give India its second World Athletics Championships medal. Rohit Yadav, who finished 11th in the qualification round, can also turn the tables. Triple jumper Eldhose Paul, who became the first-ever Indian to qualify for the final of the Championships, is a good contender to stand on the podium.

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