Annu Rani registered her best throw of 54.04 to be placed at the 4th spot in the Group A qualification.
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India’s Annu Rani finished 14th in the Javelin throw Group A qualification. The 28-year-old crashed out of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, scoring a best throw of 54.04 only. The automatic qualification mark was 63m and only Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk managed to achieve that. The 25 year old finished on top of Group A with her best throw of 65.24m. Australia’s Mackenzie Little (62.37) and China’s Huihui Lyu (61.99) recorded the second and third best throws. The 12 best performers advance to the finals. (Tokyo 2020 full coverage)
Mackenzie’s 62.37m throw was her personal best. Meanwhile Austria’s Madara Palameika registered a season best throw of 60.94 to be placed at fourth spot.
Annu qualified for the Games on the basis of her world ranking, which was 18th at the time of cut-off. The girl from Meerut became only the second female Javelin thrower to participate in the Olympics since Gurmeet Kaur at the Sydney Games 2000.
Annu’s best throw of 63.24 was registered at the Federation Cup in Patiala earlier this year. Besides, Annu is an Asian Games bronze medallist and also has won medals at the Asian Championships and South Asian Games.
The Tokyo Olympics, which was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now up and running. The Games have not been without their share of controversies, however.
The event is happening despite plenty of protests from the Japanese people against it. And the angst is not without reason. Tokyo is currently in a state of emergency due to a rise in COVID cases.
The Games will by and large be played out in the absence of fans, always a major psychological blow to athletes. There’s also been a number of cases reported in the Olympic village itself.
Nevertheless, the Games remain an event that many around the world will be keen to watch. From July 23 to August 8, many will be hooked onto their televisions to follow the events.
