National javelin throw champion Annu Rani moved closer to the elusive Olympic qualification with a 63.24m throw here on Monday, bettering her own two-year-old mark for a new National record on day one of the 24th Federation Cup.
Annu has been consistently throwing over 61m both in and out of competition. Monday’s mark is 0.81m better than her previous best (62.43m) in 2019 and almost a metre more than the previous meet record (62.34m), also held by her. The gap between her and the rest can be gauged from the fact that no one else could even cross the 55m mark.
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“I won’t say I am completely satisfied with my performance, but I am not disappointed either. I am getting better with every outing, especially since we started only recently after a year-long break. I am sure I will reach the mark soon,” Annu said after the event.
Admitting that she needed to work on her technique, Annu said: “I tend to stop just before the release of the javelin, nullifying a lot of what I gain in my run-up. That needs to be worked on and we are doing it.”
In the 10,000m run, Sanjivani Jadhav returned to the podium in her first competition after serving a two-year suspension, finishing second behind Savita Pal.
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The results:
Women: 10,000m: 1. Savita Pal (UP, 33:59.35), 2. Sanjivani Jadhav (Mah, 34:01.26), 3. Kavita Yadav (UP, 34:04.45).
Shot put: 1. Kiran Baliyan (UP, 16.45m), 2. Manpreet Kaur (Pun, 15.65m,), 3. Sonal Goyal (Del, 15.09m).
Javelin: 1. Annu Rani (UP, 63.24m), 2. Sanjana Choudhary (Raj, 54.55m), 3. Sharmila Kumari (Har, 50.78m).
Pole vault: 1. Rosy Paulraj (TN, 3.90m), 2. Pavithra Venkatesh (TN, 3.80m), 3. Mariya Jaison (Ker, 3.70m) .