Who is Annu Rani? All you need to know about the Indian woman javelin thrower competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Annu Rani, who will be competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is a talented track and field athlete and an ace in the sport of javelin throw. Those who have followed Annu’s journey will remember her gold medal win at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
With a 62.92m throw, Rani became only the second Indian after Neeraj Chopra and the first Indian woman to have won the coveted gold medal in javelin throw at a world event.
Hailing from a family of farmers who belong to the Bahadarpur Village in Uttar Pradesh, Rani is an eight-time national champion and is an athlete of many firsts. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Annu became the first Indian woman javelin thrower to qualify for the quadrennial games.
Rani is also the first Indian woman javelin thrower to have won a medal at the Commonwealth Games with her bronze medal finish in Birmingham in 2022. Previously In 2019, she had become the first Indian javelin thrower to compete in the women’s javelin throw finals at the World Athletics Championships in Doha.
Though Rani’s family was against her becoming an athlete, it was her brother Upendra who showed complete faith in her abilities.
What started as training with sugarcane sticks in empty fields eventually led to glory on the world stage for the 31-year-old, who started under the guidance of her first coach, 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kashinath Naik.
Annu Rani’s recent performances ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics
In some optimistic news for India, Annu Rani showed excellent form at the Warszawskie Zawody Lekkoatletyczne 2024 athletics meet in Poland.
On Saturday (July 21), Rani won the women’s javelin throw event with a 58.70m throw that surpassed Polish javelin thrower Amelia Beilak’s best attempt of 35.35 meters. She clocked her best distance of the year two months ago in Germany with a 60.68m throw.
Annu Rani is part of the 29-member Indian athletics team, which also includes celebrated athlete Neeraj Chopra. The team is expected to arrive in Paris on July 28 with the track and field competitions starting on August 1.