IAAF World Championships Day 4 Highlights: Annu Rani breaks national record, reaches final

Day four of the IAAF World Championships will see India's Annu Rani, Archana Suseendran and Anjali Devi in action in the preliminary rounds of their events.

Annu Rani will be in action in the women's javelin throw.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar's Live coverage of Day four of the IAAF World Championships in Doha.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that brings us to the end of the Indian participation from day four of the IAAF World Athletics Championships. Annu Rani made history by becoming the first Indian to reach the final of the women's javelin throw, while Archana Suseendran and Anjali Devi did not get past their heats. More on Annu's feat here -

Annu Rani sets new javelin national record

Annu will be in action again tomorrow, on Tuesday, in the women's javelin final. Along with Annu, Avinash Sable will also take to the track in the men's 3000m steeplechase.

You can find the entire schedule here - IAAF World Championships 2019: Complete schedule, events, timings in IST, Indians in action

DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS:

-- Anjali finishes sixth in her Heat with a timing of 52.33s.

-- Anjali Devi takes to the track now! Once again, she will be running on lane 7.

-- It's official, Annu Rani has qualified for the final! With a new national record throw of 62.43m, Annu becomes the first Indian to reach the final round of the women’s javelin throw event at the IAAF World Championships.

-- Woah, this one's even bigger! Diamond League champion Huihui Lyu throws a spectacular 67.27 to also assure herself of a spot in the final! As it stands, Annu Rani is on the fifth spot in the women's javelin throw and remains in contention of making it to the final.

Annu Rani is currently fifth in line to make it to the women's javelin finals.

 

-- Meanwhile, in Group B of the women's javelin throw, Germany's Christin Hussong has sealed her place in the final off her very first throw! The 2018 European Championships gold medallist recorded a massive  65.29 in her first throw to cruise into the final via automatic qualification.

-- Aaaaand, we're back! Anjali Devi will be in action in a few minutes from now. She will run on lane 7 in heat 6. The top three from each heat and the next six fastest runners will qualify for the semifinal.

-- While we wait to find out if Annu Rani will make it to the women's javelin throw final, India's Anjali Devi will be in action next. She will take the track in the 400m heats at around 20:50PM IST . Stay tuned for that one!

-- Archana's campaign comes to an end as she finishes last in her heat with a timing of 23.65s.

Archana had a reaction time of 0.201s, the slowest in the heat.

 

-- Archana, with a PB and SB of 23.18s, is the second slowest woman in the heat. She will be running in lane 4.

We now move to the women's 200m heats where Archana Suseendran will be in action! She will take part in Heat 2.

-- Annu registers a third and final throw of 60.50m. She remains in contention for a spot in the final and is currently on the third spot in Group A. The top 12 throwers from both Groups will advance to the final. With a huge throw of 62.43m, Annu looks likely to seal her berth in the final.

-- SHE'S DONE IT! ANNU RANI MAKES A NEW NATIONAL RECORD! We literally just spoke about Annu's national record and she's gone ahead and outdone herself by securing a new national record throw of 62.43m! At the end of two throws, Annu is second on the table in Group A. China's Liu leads the pack with a throw of 63.48m.

-- If Annu can get close to her personal best throw of 62.34m, she stands  a strong chance here. She is the reigning national champion and is the first Indian woman javelin thrower to cross the 60m mark!

-- Annu begins her campaign with a first throw of 57.05m. The automatic qualification mark is set at 63.50m.

7pm : Right then, we begin with the women's javelin throw. Annu Rani, who bagged the silver medal at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, is the sole Indian hope.

Day four of the IAAF World Championships will be a busy day for Indian women as Annu Rani (Javelin), Archana Suseendran (200m) and Anjali Devi (400m) will be taking part in the preliminary round of their respective events. Stay tuned!

There are another six days left in the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships and more Indians will be in action every single day from here on. You can find the full schedule, with the names of Indian athletes in action, in the link below.

FULL SCHEDULE| IAAF World Championships 2019: Complete schedule, events, timings in IST, Indians in action

DAY 3 REVIEW:

The third day saw the Indian 4*400m mixed relay team finish seventh in the final. The quartet of Muhammed Anas, V.K. Vismaya, Jisna Mathew and Noah Nirmal Tom, recorded a season-best timing of 3.15.77.

Despite the seventh-placed finish, it was all smiles for the Indian team as they had already secured their berth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by virtue of qualifying for Sunday's final. The Indians finished third in their heat and seventh overall on Saturday with a timing of 3:16.14 to qualify for the finals, which ensured them an Olympic berth.

USA took the gold medal and in the process, Allyson Felix became the most decorated performer in World Athletics Championships as she picked her 12th medal at the Championships, one more than sprint icon Usain Bolt.

In the women's 100m event, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won her eighth World Athletics Championships title after claiming gold in the women's 100m final in Doha, storming to the finish in 10.71 seconds.

ICYMI: Newly crowned world 100m champion Christian Coleman withdrew from the 200m race. FULL REPORT| World champion Coleman withdraws from 200m

DAY 2 REVIEW:

Despite a baton fumble just before the last lap, India recovered nicely and entered the 4x400m mixed relay final at the World Athletics Championships in Doha on Saturday night.

The all-Kerala quartet of Muhammed Anas, V.K. Vismaya, Jisna Mathew and Noah Nirmal Tom clocked a season-best 3:16.14s to finish third in the semifinal, edging out Belgium by two hundredths of a second.

The final entry also brought India a Tokyo Olympics berth given to the top eight finishers of the mixed relay.

But, there were a few anxious moments as there was a small delay in the final baton exchange between Mathew and Tom who ran the last lap.

- Jabir, Dutee crash out -

Meanwhile, M.P. Jabir finished fifth, with 49.71s, in the men's 400m hurdles semifinal and failed to qualify for the final.

The 23-year-old Asian bronze medallist, who ran in the last lane, finished 16th overall, an impressive finish on the big stage.

Norway's Karsten Warholm, the world's fastest hurdler this year, topped the semifinals with 48.28s.

- Christian Coleman blasts to 100m gold -

Christian Coleman stormed to victory in the 100 metres at the World Championships in Doha on Saturday, emphatically shrugging off the missed drug test controversy which had threatened to derail his career.

The 23-year-old American, who escaped a doping ban earlier this month on a technicality, swept over the finish line in a world-leading 9.76sec to claim his first major outdoor championship gold medal.

Defending champion Justin Gatlin took silver in 9.89sec while Canada's Andre De Grasse claimed bronze in 9.90sec.

It completed a flawless championship campaign for Coleman, who had been the only man to duck under 10 seconds in both Friday's opening rounds and Saturday's semifinals.