Annu Rani Dharayan (born 28 August 1992) is an Indian

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

er. She was the first Indian woman to reach the javelin throw final at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in 2019. At the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman javelin thrower to win a medal, a bronze. Rani is the first Indian woman javelin thrower to win a gold at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

Personal life and background

Annu Rani Dharayan was born in a JAT family on 28 August 1992 in village Bahadurpur,

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

. Her father Amarpal was a farmer. Her talent was identified by her brother, Upendra, who noticed her upper body strength during a cricket game. He began to train her by asking her to hurl sugarcane sticks in an empty field. Annu's first javelin stick was one that she crafted herself from a long piece of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

, because she couldn't afford one. She started playing javelin throw first in the year 2010 at the age of 18. Her brother later began to pay for her training as well, despite her father's disapproval at girls pursuing sports. He finally came around to supporting Annu's talent after she proved herself by breaking the national record in 2014, and now supports her ambition.

Professional achievements

Annu Rani was initially coached by Kashinath Naik and is now coached by Baljeet Singh. In the 2014 National Inter-State Athletics Championship in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

, Rani won the gold medal with a throw of 58.83 metres, breaking a 14-year-old national record and qualifying her for the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

where she finished eighth. Later in the year, she won the bronze medal at the

in Incheon, South Korea, with a throw of 59.53 metres. Two years later she broke her own record again at the National Inter-state Athletics Championship with a throw of 60.01 metres. In March 2019, she broke her own record again with a throw of 62.34 meters at the National Senior Athletics Championships in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. Rani won the silver medal at the 23rd

Asian Athletics Championships The Asian Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Asian Athletics Association. History The competition courted controversy with the IAAF when political in-fighting arose after Israel was excluded from participation in 1977. That edi ...

in Qatar on 21 April 2019, which qualified for the World Athletics Championship, becoming the first Indian woman javelin thrower to participate in World Athletics Championship. She won the bronze medal at the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

World Challenge event

Golden Spike Ostrava Golden Spike () is an annual athletics event at the Městský Stadion in Ostrava- Vítkovice, Czech Republic as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1961. The history of the meeting was interrupted in 1999, whe ...

in Ostrava, Czech Republic. She won the Sportstar Aces Sportswoman of the Year Award in Athletics in 2020. She won the gold medal in the women's javelin throw event at the 59th National Open Athletics Championship.

References

External links

* * *
Annu Rani
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rani, Annu 1992 births Living people Indian female javelin throwers Sportspeople from Meerut Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for India Olympic female javelin throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for India Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games athletes for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Asian Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes from Uttar Pradesh Sportswomen from Uttar Pradesh South Asian Games silver medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in athletics Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for India Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Athletics Championships medalists Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics