In what can only be called as a historic moment, Annu Rani became the first woman to win a medal in the women's javelin throw in the Commonwealth Games on Sunday. Rani sent the spear to a distance of 60m in her fourth attempt to finish third. World champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia stole the gold with a final round throw of 64.43m from compatriot Mackenzie Little (64.27m) who was leading at the end of the penultimate round.
Before Rani, Kashinath Naik and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra had won a bronze and a gold in the men's javelin throw respectively. Naik had won the medal at the 2010 Delhi Games while Chopra won the gold in Gold Coast in 2018. Earlier, Rani finished seventh in the women's final at Eugene. Her best effort at the World Athletics Championships final was 61.12m.
This was her second consecutive final in the showpiece. Rani's personal best came in the second attempt. However, she failed to cross the 60m mark in the other five throws. The 29-year-old's season's and personal best is 63.82m. The readings of her throws were as follows:
- 56.18m
- 61.12m
- 59.27m
- 58.14m
- 59.98m
- 58.70m
During the qualification round for the final, the national record holder finished as the eighth best. Her best throw at that time was 59.60m.
