Annu Rani became the first Indian female javelin thrower to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games on the penultimate day here on Sunday. Rani sent the spear to a distance of 60m in her fourth attempt to win a bronze medal for the country.
World champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia stole the gold with a final round throw of 64.43m from compatriot Mackenzie Little (64.27m), who was leading at the end of the penultimate round.
Rani opened her campaign with a throw of 55.61m, well below her personal and season's best of 63.82m. She fouled out on her next two throws, before throwing the javelin 60m to earn her bronze. Her attempt at improving in the fifth throw went awry, as she notched 58.15m, before fouling out on her last throw.
Shilpa Rani, the other Indian in the fray, with a personal and season's best of 59.01m, finished seventh with a best throw of 54.62m, achieved in her 2nd throw.
Before Rani, Kashinath Naik and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra had won a bronze and a gold in men's javelin throw in the 2010 and 2018 editions respectively.
