National
July 21, 2022

Annu Rani qualified for the javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, the first Indian woman to qualify for the second straight javelin throw final in World Championships.
According to the reports, Annu Rani, who had also reached the final Doha edition in 2019 and eventually finished eighth, qualified for the final with a throw of 59.60 metres. She was placed eighth among 12 competitors that have qualified for the final to be held on Friday.
Competing in Group B, Annu started with a foul and then came up with a throw of 55.35m and 59.60m in her third attempt to finish fifth in her group. Only three competitors — Haruka Kitaguchi (64.32m) of Japan, Tokyo Olympics winner Shiying Liu (63.86m) of China and Levita Jasiunaite (63.80) of Lithuania — achieved the qualifying standard of 62.50m and will start as the favourites for the medals.
The report further added that the qualifying cut was set at 62.50m for the 12 best performers. Annu thus was placed 8th among 29 competitors that participated in the competition. Defending champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia, a Tokyo 2020 bronze winner and two-time Commonwealth Games medallist, was fifth with a 61.27m effort.
Three-time worlds medallist L Huihui of China (57.59m), Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Maria Andrejczyk of Poland (55.47m), Commonwealth Games champion Kathryn Mitchell of Australia (53.09m) and Rio Olympic champion Sara Kolak of Croatia (foul) did not make the cut.
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