World Athletics Championships 2022: Annu Rani qualifies for women's javelin throw final

Eugene, Oregon: Annu Rani booked her place in the women's javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday. This is her second successive foray into the final of a world event. Her best throw of 59.60 metres carried her into the medal match.

Rani, who had finished eighth at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, was placed in Group B and started with a foul throw. She then registered a throw of 55.35 metres which wouldn't have been enough to move into the final. But she went better in the third and final attempt to book her spot in the 12-women final.

The 59.60m throw wasn't enough to get an automatic qualification spot. The benchmark was set at 62.50m with three athletes breaching that mark. Rest of the nine athletes qualified by way of being the best performers.

Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan qualified top with a throw of 64.32m followed by China's Shiying Liu (63.86m) and Lithuania's Liveta Jasiunaite (63.80m). All three set their season best marks in the process.

With her 59.60m effort and a place in the World Championships final, Annu Rani has seemingly put her disappointment at Tokyo Olympics behind her. Last year at the Summer Games, the national record holder had finished 14th from 15 athletes to not make the cut from qualifying. Then her best throw was a mere 54.40 metres.

Leading up to the World Athletics Championships, she was in good form. She broke her own national record with a 63.82m attempt at the AFI Indian Open event in Jamshedpur in May.

The final for the women's javelin throw will take place on 22 July at 6:20 PM local time (23 July at 06:50 AM IST).

The focus from an Indian standpoint shifts to the men tomorrow when Neeraj Chopra and Rohit Yadav will be in action in javelin throw.Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.