Annu Rani

Full Description: Annu Rani Dharayan (born 28 August 1992) is an Indian javelin thrower from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. She was the first Indian to reach the finals of the women's javelin throw event in the World Athletics Championships, Doha, 2019. Annu had qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics through world rankings after missing out on the Olympic Qualification mark. Her career best effort is 63.24m which helped her win the gold in the National Interstate Athletic Championship, Patiala, 2021.In the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Annu Rani scripted history as she became the first Indian female javelin thrower to win a medal, a bronze. She is the first Indian Javelin thrower to win a Gold medal in Asian games 2023 at Hangzhou. Annu Rani Dharayan was born on 28 August 1992 in village Bahadurpur,Meerut. Her father Amarpal was a farmer. Her talent was identified by her brother, Upendra, who noticed her upper body strength during a cricket game. He began to train her by asking her to hurl sugarcane sticks in an empty field. Annu's first javelin stick was one that she crafted herself from a long piece of bamboo, because she couldn't afford one. She started playing javelin throw first in the year 2010 at the age of 18. Her brother later began to pay for her training as well, despite her father's disapproval at girls pursuing sports. He finally came around to supporting Annu's talent after she proved herself by breaking the national record in 2014, and now supports her ambition.