Annu Rani (Athlete) Height, Age, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Annu Rani

• Annu Rani had a passion for sports since childhood and always wanted to pursue a career in the same.

• As a teenager, she used to play cricket with her brother, who observed her strong upper body and recognized her potential for javelin throwing. Initially, he started her training by instructing her to throw sugarcane sticks in an empty field.

• In 2010, she started playing javelin throw at the age of 18. She made her first javelin stick by using a long bamboo piece because she couldn’t afford one.

• In an interview, she revealed that she belonged to a village where people have very conservative approach and don’t allow the females of their families to pursue sports.

• During an interview, she recalled an incident when her school banned her from practising due to accidentally breaking a flower pot during a training session.

• Due to insufficient facilities in the village and a lack of practice opportunities at school, Annu established a temporary training ground in her father’s field. She used to travel 13 miles every day for practice, with her sister accompanying her and ensuring her safety until late at night.

• Her father was not very supportive of her playing. In 2012, when she received an invitation to the Indian camp, her father declined to send her unaccompanied to Patiala, where the camp was held.

• Her brother, in an interview, revealed that his family was so financially constrained that Annu once had to buy shoes for her training from borrowed money. She had to sleep on the floor of trains while travelling and seek assistance from neighbours to afford the tickets.

• Seeing her performance at various local competitions, Kashinath Naik, a Commonwealth Bronze Medalist decided to train her for international events for which he needed to convince her father to allow her to practice away from her home. His father agreed, and Annu Rani finally became a student of Kashinath in 2013. Kashinath encouraged her to aspire for the Olympics and advised her to watch motivational films such as ‘Sultan’ (2016), ‘Dangal’ (2016), and ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’ (2017).

• Annu was then trained at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, where she practised the Javelin throw for almost 80 times a day and intense weight lifting of 180 kg to build a strong physique. According to Annu, she used heavier javelins (usually around 600 g) to gain a better level of strength. Later, she received training from Baljeet Singh.

• In an interview, while talking about the techniques used in javelin throw, Annu Rani said,
  

  Javelin is all about technique. Of course, power does matter, but I think I have enough strength to throw long. It is about fine-tuning the technique, and once that is done, I am confident of breaching the qualification mark. In this sport, you can make up 3-4 metres just by getting your technique right.”

• Under Naik’s coaching, she broke the 14-year-old national record of 58.83 meters at the National Inter-State Athletics Championship in Lucknow in 2014.

• She secured the eighth position in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

• In that same year, at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, she achieved a throw of 59.53 meters, earning her a bronze medal. It was her first medal.
  

  Annu Rani at the 2014 Asian Games

• Annu had multiple injuries in 2015. The following year, she made her comeback, beating her record for the third time with the throw of 60.01 m at the 56th Open National Athletics Championship.

• Her successful performance continued, and she recorded a throw of 61.86m at the Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships on 4 June 2017. She won the Athletics World’s Championship in 2017 and became the first Indian woman to do so.

• While representing her state, Uttar Pradesh, she hurled the spear to 62.34m, which was more than her previous record of 61.86m. She cleared the qualifying standard of 61.50m for the World Championships to be held in Doha in 2019.
  

  Annu Rani during the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha

• In March 2019, she broke her record again with a throw of 62.34 meters at the National Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala, Punjab.

• She then had her best throw of 60.22m at the World Championships held in Doha at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships on 21 April 2019, winning the silver medal for the country.

• She could not qualify at the World Athletics Championships held in Doha 2019. However, she qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics based on her World ranking of 18. 
  

  Annu Rani at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

• She won a competition at the Birsa Munda Athletics at the Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium with a score of 56.97m, 55.97m, 58.31m, 57.29m, and 56.86 before securing the final mark of 58.60m.

• In 2021, she achieved her career-best throw of 63.24 meters, leading to her gold medal at the National Interstate Athletic Championship held in Patiala.

• At the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, she made history by becoming the first Indian female javelin thrower to secure a bronze medal.
  

  Annu Rani at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games

• In 2023, she achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Indian javelin thrower to clinch a gold medal in the Asian Games held at Hangzhou. In the competition, she bagged a gold medal with her season-best throw of 62.92 meters.
  

  Annu Rani after winning at Asian Games 2023

• In an interview, she explained that in the early stages of her career, she faced difficulties practising with boys due to cultural norms prevalent in her village. She was instructed to walk with her head lowered and refrain from making direct eye contact with males.

• Her achievements have led to her securing a position as an officer with the Indian Railways.