World championships: Javelin thrower Annu Rani's judgement day

Eugene, July 21

India’s javelin thrower Annu Rani qualified for the World Championships finals after coming up with a throw of 59.60 metres in her last attempt here today.

Rani was on the verge of an early exit after starting with a foul and then threw to 55.35m in her second attempt. However, she managed to send the spear to 59.60m in the final attempt, which was well below her season’s best but good enough to get her into the finals.

She finished fifth in the Group B qualification round and made it to the finals as eighth-best across two groups on the fifth day of competitions.

The 29-year-old national record holder failed to touch the 60m mark but has a chance to make amends in the finals on Saturday. She has a season’s and personal best of 63.82m.

Those who touched 62.50m mark or 12 best performers across two groups made it to the finals. Only three competitors could get past the automatic qualification mark of 62.50m.

Season leader Maggie Malone of the USA failed to make it after finishing 12th in Group B and 22nd overall with a best throw of 54.19m, while defending champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia made it to the medal round as fifth-best performer with an effort of 61.27m.

Rani has qualified for her second consecutive finals in her third appearance at the showpiece. With a best throw of 61.12m, she had finished eighth in the finals of the last edition in Doha in 2019. She could not qualify for the finals in 2017 in London after finishing 10th in her qualification group.

In the women’s 5,000m, Parul Chaudhary failed to make it to the semifinals after finishing 17th in heat No. 2 and 31st overall with a time of 15 minutes 54.03 seconds. The 27-year-old has a season’s best of 15:39.77 and personal best of 15:36.03.