Annu Rani finishes seventh in javelin throw final

OREGON: Indian athlete Annu Rani finished in the seventh position in the javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships being held in Oregon on Friday. She made her best attempt of 61.12 m.

Rani was not at her most consistent in the final as she was outdone by other opponents.

Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber clinched the gold medal with a massive 66.91 m throw while Kara Winger of US took home the silver with the best throw of 64.05, which came in her final attempt.

Japan's Haruka Kitaguchi bagged the bronze in the event with the best throw of 63.27 m.

Rani started off her campaign in the final with a throw of 56.18 m, after which she was ranked ninth out of twelve.

In her second attempt, she came with an impressive 61.12 m, which pushed her to sixth rank.

However, her third and fourth attempts were disappointing, as she could achieve throws of 59.27 m and 58.14 respectively, causing her to slip to seventh.

Barber took the lead at this point with 66.91 m.

Rani finished at the seventh spot after throws of 59.98m and 58.70 in her final two attempts.

Though she could return back with a medal, she became only the second Indian woman to have two top eight finishes at the world championships.

"#Athletics Update's @Annu_Javelin finishes 7th with her best throw of 61.12m at @WCHoregon22. 2019 edition - 8th; with this she becomes only the 2nd Indian woman after @anjubobbygeorg1 to have two top 8 finishes at #WorldChampionships Great Effort," tweeted SAI Media.

Rani on Wednesday became the first Indian to make it to back-to-back finals at the World Athletics Championships after finishing with a throw of 59.60 in her final attempt in Oregon.

Rani began the qualification round in Group B on a bad note with a foul. But then she came up with a throw of 55.35 m later. She saved the best for the last, making a throw of 59.60 m to make it to the final.

In the group B qualification round, she finished in the fifth position and made it to the final as eighth-best across both groups. World Athletics Championships 2022 is being held in Oregon. It will conclude on July 24.