Annu Rani Biography, Achievements, Career and More Details

Noticing her upper body strength during a game of cricket, Annu Rani began training her using sugarcane sticks in an empty field. Financial constraints meant Annu’s first javelin was a handcrafted bamboo stick. She started playing javelin in 2010 at the age of 18, and despite initial disapproval from her father, her brother’s unwavering support and her subsequent successes eventually won her father’s backing.

Born on August 28, 1992, in Bahadurpur, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Annu Rani Dharayan’s early life was grounded in humble beginnings. Her father, Amarpal, was a farmer, and it was her brother Upendra who first recognized her potential.

Career

Annu Rani’s career took a remarkable turn in 2024 when she clinched India’s first-ever Asian Games gold in women’s javelin throw, marking a stunning comeback after enduring her worst season in five years.

Annu’s breakthrough came in 2014 at the National Inter-State Athletics Championship in Lucknow, where she won gold with a throw of 58.83 meters, breaking a 14-year-old national record. This performance qualified her for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she finished eighth. Later that year, she won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, with a throw of 59.53 meters.

Annu continued to excel, breaking her records with notable performances in 2016 (60.01 meters) and 2019 (62.34 meters at the National Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala, Punjab). In April 2019, she won a silver medal at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Qatar, qualifying for the World Athletics Championship and becoming the first Indian woman javelin thrower to participate in the event. She also won bronze at the IAAF World Challenge event Golden Spike Ostrava in the Czech Republic and the Sportstar Aces Sportswoman of the Year Award in Athletics in 2020.

Her career-best throw of 63.24 meters came at the National Interstate Athletic Championship in Patiala in 2021. Annu made history again by winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, becoming the first Indian female javelin thrower to achieve this feat.

Annu’s historic performance at the 2024 Asian Games marked a triumphant return. At the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, she moved to the top of the leaderboard with a 61.28-meter throw on her second attempt. Despite being briefly pushed to second place by Sri Lanka’s Dilhan Nadeesha, Annu delivered a season-best throw of 62.92 meters on her fourth attempt, securing the gold medal.

Reflecting on her victory, Annu shared, “I was depressed and struggling with my performance all year. This was my last competition of 2023, and I just wanted to give it my all. This is an international gold medal for me finally. If this is possible, then anything else is. I have thrown 64-65 meters in practice… nothing seems impossible now. I want to do this at the 2024 Olympics.”