Annu Rani is an Indian javelin thrower who is famous for becoming the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.
Wiki/Biography
Annu Rani Dharayan was born on Friday, 28 August 1992, in Bahadurpur village, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh (31 years as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Virgo. As a child, she used to play cricket with her brother, who noticed that Anu had a strong upper body and that she had javelin strength. He began training her by asking her to throw sugar cane sticks into the open. In 2010, at the age of 18, she threw the javelin for the first time. She spoke about the traditional values of her childhood in interviews and said that contrary to the stereotype of Indian girls cooking rotis in the kitchen, she was a sports-loving girl who aspired to become a professional athlete. She recalled in an interview that one time she accidentally broke a flower pot during practice, and the school banned her from practicing.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Weight (approximately): 70kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Anu’s father, Amarpal Singh, was a farmer.
Anu Rani and her father
Her mother’s name is Muni Devi. She has two brothers and two sisters. One of her brother’s names is Upendra Singh and he is a long distance runner.
wife and children
Anu is unmarried.
religion
She follows Hinduism.
Annu Rani’s post on her religious values
Profession
The struggles you face after choosing to play
Anu couldn’t afford a javelin stick, so she made her first javelin stick from a long piece of bamboo. Due to insufficient facilities in the village and limited internship opportunities in the school, Anu built a temporary site in his father’s field for internship. She drives 13 miles a day to practice. To ensure her safety, her sister would stay with her late into the night. Her father did not support her participation in sports, but her brother paid for her training. In 2012, when she got a call to attend an Indian camp, her father refused to send her alone to Patiala, where the camp was located. In an interview, her brother revealed that Anu had to borrow money to buy training shoes because the family’s financial situation was so bad. In an interview, she recalled that in her early years, her family faced financial difficulties and was unable to afford tickets to her games. Sometimes she had to sleep on the train floor during the trip or borrow money from neighbors to buy tickets.
game training
She had competed in many national championships and after witnessing her performance in one of them, Commonwealth bronze medalist Kashinath Naik was keen to coach her in overseas competitions; however, this required him Convinced her father to allow her to train away from home. With her father’s approval, Annu enrolled in Kashinath’s course in 2013. Kashinath inspired her to dream of the Olympics. She asked her to watch some inspirational movies, such as “Sultan” and “Dangal!” Dad” and “Sachin: A Billion Dreams”. Afterwards, Anu trained at the National Sports Academy in Patiala and lifted 180 kg of weight at high intensity several times a day to build a strong body. Her javelin used to weigh about 600 grams. Anu claimed that she increased her strength by using heavier weapons. Later, she received training from Baljeet Singh.
Achievement
In 2014, she broke the 14-year-old national record with a clearance of 58.83 meters at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Lucknow. She later qualified for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she finished eighth. In the same year, she won the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, with a throw of 59.53 meters.
Annu Rani during the 2014 Asian Games
In 2016, she threw 60.01 meters at the National Track and Field Open, breaking her own record. Unfortunately, Anu suffered multiple injuries over the next year. Indian women crossed the 60m mark for the first time. In March 2019, she broke her own record again with a throw of 62.34 meters at the National Adult Athletics Championships in Patiala, Punjab. At the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Qatar on April 21, 2019, she became the first Indian women’s javelin thrower to participate in the World Athletics Championships, winning a silver medal.
Annu Rani during the 2019 World Athletics Championships
She did not meet the qualifying standards for the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.
Annu Rani during the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha
However, her world ranking of 18th earned her a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Annu Rani at Tokyo 2020 Olympics
In October 2019, Anu continued her strong performance and won the gold medal in the women’s javelin throw competition at the 59th National Track and Field Championships. At the Birsamunda track and field, she won with times of 56.97, 55.97, 58.31, 57.29 and 56.86, finishing with a time of 58.60m. In 2021, she hit a career-best time of 63.24m, which helped her win the gold medal at the 2021 National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Patiala. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she became the first Indian woman javelin thrower to win a bronze medal.
Annu Rani at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games
In 2023, she became the first Indian javelin thrower to win a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games. She set a season-best throw of 62.92 meters and won her first gold medal in a major international event. She said in an interview that she felt very depressed before the Asian Games and said,
I’ve been working hard all year but haven’t been able to perform at my best. I felt frustrated and stressed because the government spent a lot of money to send me abroad for training. This is my last game of the season and I’m not giving up. So I decided to give it my all. “
Annu Rani after winning Asian Games 2023
medal
gold
- National Inter-State Athletics Championships Lucknow 2014
- The 59th National Track and Field Open Championships in 2019
- National Inter-State Athletics Championships Patiala 2021
- Kusanov Memorial Championship, Almaty, Kazakhstan 2022
- 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China
silver
- The 23rd Asian Athletics Championships were held in Qatar on April 21, 2019
bronze
- 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea
- IAAF World Challenge 2019 Ostrava Golden Spike Athletics Games in Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022
Record
- In 2019, she became the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the World Athletics Championships in Doha.
- In 2023, she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in javelin at the Asian Games
Awards
- 2020 Sports Star Aces Track and Field Female Athlete of the Year Award
Annu Rani wins 2020 Aces Athletics Female Athlete of the Year Award
- Best Female Athlete at Times of India Sports Awards 2022
Annu Rani poses with Times of India Sports Awards 2022 Best Female Athlete
- CNBC TV18 IBLA 2023 Trailblazer Award
Annu Rani poses with the Trailblazer of the Year Award at CNBC TV18 IBLA 2023
Facts/Trivia
- She enjoys shopping and reading.
- She follows a vegetarian diet.
- According to her, in her early career, she faced challenges while practicing with boys due to cultural norms in her village. She was taught to walk with her head down and avoid eye contact with men and boys.
- Annu Rani said in an interview about javelin throwing technique:
Javelin is technology. Of course, strength does matter, but I think I have enough strength to throw long distances. It was fine-tuning the technique, and once I did that, I felt confident that I could break the qualifying score. In this sport, with the right technique, you can run 3-4 meters. “
- Her performance even earned her a commission as an officer in the Indian Railways.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education