Javelin thrower Annu Rani qualified for the World Championships final after coming up with a throw of 59.60m on her last attempt, here on Wednesday.
The Indian was on the verge of an early exit after starting with a foul throw and then managing a below par 55.35m in her second attempt but managed to send her spear to 59.60m, which was well below her season’s best but good enough to push her into the finals.
She finished fifth in Group B qualification round and made it to the finals as eighth best across two groups on the fifth day of competitions. Tokyo Olympic Games men’s champion Neeraj Chopra is also expected to qualify for the final.
Neeraj is in Group A of the qualification round with Tokyo silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic and 2012 London Olympics gold winner Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago.
Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada will compete in the qualification Group B. India’s other javelin thrower Rohit Yadav is in that group. The final is on Saturday (Sunday morning in India).
Annu, the 29-year-old national record holder, failed to touch the 60m mark but has the chance to make amends in the finals on Friday (Saturday 6.50am IST). She has a season’s and personal best of 63.82m.
Those who touched the 62.50m mark or 12 best performers across two groups made it to the finals.
In women’s 5000m, Parul Chaudhary failed to make it to the semi-finals after finishing 17th in heats and 31st overall with a time of 15:54.03. The 27-year-old has a season’s best of 15:39.77.
