Annu Rani sets new javelin national record

Annu Rani set a new national record when she registered a throw of 62.34m in the women's javelin throw event at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha.

With a new national record throw of 62.43m, Annu Rani has the chance of becoming the first Indian to reach the final round of the women’s javelin throw event in the IAAF World Championships.

Annu Rani went the distance on Monday as she set a new javelin national record with a massive 62.43m throw at the ongoing IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha.

Twenty-seven-year-old Annu, who is the national champion, bettered her own previous record of 62.34m which she had set at the Federation Cup in March . She is also the first Indian woman to cross the 60m mark.

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She began her campaign at the IAAF World Athletics Championships with a throw of 57.05m and followed it up with a record-breaking second throw of 62.43m. The Asian Athletics Championships silver medallist then threw 60.50m in the third and final round, but her second throw catapulted her to the third spot in Group A, behind behind Asian Games champion Liu Shiying (63.48m) and Slovenia's Ratej Martina (62.87m) .

Though Group B is yet to begin, the Indian javelin thrower has a strong chance of making it to the final. Im the event that she does, Annu will become the first Indian to reach the final round of the women’s javelin throw event in the IAAF World Championships.

Those who touch the automatic qualifying mark of 63.50m or 12 best performers from Group A and Group B taken together will qualify for the final round, to be held on Tuesday.

With inputs from PTI