Annu Rani

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Annu Rani
India's Anu Rani, Javelin Throw Bronze Medalist.jpg
Rani at the 2017 Asian Championships
Personal information
Born (1992-08-28) 28 August 1992 (age 33)
Bahadarpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event
 Javelin throw
Coached by Sergey Makarov
Kashinath Naik
Achievements and titles
Personal bests63.82 m NR (2022)
Medal record
Women's athletics Athletics pictogram.svg
Representing Flag of India.svg  India
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Javelin throw
Asian Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Hangzhou Javelin throw
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2014 Incheon Javelin throw
Asian Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Doha Javelin throw
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 Bhubaneswar Javelin throw
South Asian Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2016 Guwahati Javelin throw

Annu Rani (born 28 August 1992) is an Indian javelin thrower. She is a two-time Olympian and an Asian Games gold medallist, and regarded as the flag bearer for India in women's javelin throw. [1] [2] She became the first Indian woman to reach the javelin throw final at the World Championships in 2019. [3] At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she won the bronze medal, becoming the first Indian woman to medal in javelin throw at the event. [4]

Contents

Early and personal life

Annu Rani was born on 28 August 1992 Bahadarpur, Uttar Pradesh in a family of farmers. [5] Her athletic potential was first identified by her brother, Upendra, who observed her upper-body strength while she was playing cricket. He introduced her to javelin throwing and initially trained her by having her throw sugarcane sticks in open fields. Due to financial constraints, Annu initially used a self-made javelin fashioned from a bamboo stick. [6]

She began competing in the javelin throw competitions in 2010 at the age of 18. Her training was initially supported by her brother, despite resistance from her family regarding her participation in sports. After she broke the national record in 2014, her family began supporting her athletic career. [7] [8]

Annu Rani married national kickboxing champion Sahil Bhardwaj on November 18, 2025.

Career

In the 2014 National Inter-State Athletics Championship in Lucknow, Rani won the gold medal with a throw of 58.83 m, breaking a 14-year-old national record and qualifying her for the 2014 Commonwealth Games where she finished eighth. Later in the year, she won the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, with a throw of 59.53 m. Two years later she broke her own record again at the National Inter-state Athletics Championship with a throw of 60.01 m. [9] In March 2019, she broke her own record again with a throw of 62.34 m at the National Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala. [10]

Rani won the silver medal at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Qatar on 21 April 2019, which helped her qualify for the World Athletics Championships, becoming the first Indian woman javelin thrower to participate in World Athletics Championships. [11] She won the bronze medal at the IAAF World Challenge event Golden Spike Ostrava in Ostrava, Czech Republic. [12]

She won the Sportstar Aces Sportswoman of the Year Award in Athletics in 2020. [11] She won the gold medal in the women's javelin throw event at the 59th National Open Athletics Championships. [13] [14]

References

  1. ↑ "Olympics Profile: Annu RANI". Olympics.
  2. ↑ "Asian Games 2023: India's Annu Rani Clinches Gold Medal In Women's Javelin With 62.92m Throw; Watch". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  3. ↑ "Annu Rani qualifies for javelin throw finals with national record effort". India Today. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "CWG 2022: Annu Rani wins bronze, becomes first Indian female javelin thrower to win medal". The_Hindu . 7 August 2022.
  5. ↑ "Asian Games 'Golden Queen' Annu Rani's Javelin Was Aimed at 'Freedom for Women' in Her UP Village". News18. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "After throwing sugarcanes, bamboo sticks, Annu Rani now hurls javelin for CWG bronze". The Indian Express. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "Annu Rani's Quest For Gold – Impact Guru". impactguru.com. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Nikhil (27 June 2017). "Annu Rani – The Torchbearer for Indian Women in Athletics Javelin Throw". Voice of Indian Sports. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "Annu Rani – The Torchbearer for Indian Women in Athletics Javelin Throw". Voice of Indian Sports – KreedOn. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Fed Cup athletics: Annu Rani rewrites her own Javelin Throw national record, qualifies for Worlds". Scroll.in. Press Trust of India. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  11. 1 2 Rayan, Stan (13 January 2020). "Annu Rani wins Sportstar Aces 2020 Sportswoman of the Year in athletics". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  12. ↑ "Javelin: Bronze for Annu Rani at IAAF event". Sportstar. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "National Open Athletics Championship: Annu Rani wins gold, Neeraj Chopra pulls out". India Today. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  14. ↑ Srivastava, Shantanu (13 May 2020). "Annu Rani confident of breaching Olympic qualification mark, calls for resumption of outdoor training". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
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