Indian Open Athletics 2025: Annu Rani Claims Women’s Javelin Title in Punjab
Patiala, 02 April (Sports Desk)
Asian U20 Champion Dipanshu Sharma Sets New Personal Best to Win Men’s Javelin in Sangrur
Asian Games gold medallist and two-time Olympian Annu Rani clinched the women’s javelin throw title at the Indian Open Athletics 2025 meet held in Sangrur, Punjab, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, rising star Dipanshu Sharma took the men’s javelin crown with a personal-best performance.
In only her second competitive outing of the 2025 season, 32-year-old Annu Rani secured victory at the inaugural Indian Open Athletics with a throw of 56.43m on her sixth and final attempt at War Heroes Stadium. Jyoti took second place with a 51.94m effort, while Uma Choudhary rounded out the podium with 50.68m.
Rani’s winning throw fell short of her season-best 58.82m, achieved last month at the Indian Open Throws Competition in Navi Mumbai, where she also surpassed the 58.00m qualification mark for the Asian Athletics Championships 2025, set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). The continental event is slated for May in Gumi, Republic of Korea, though final team selections remain at the AFI’s discretion.
Annu Rani, a national record holder, set her benchmark of 63.82m at the Indian Open Javelin Throw Competition in 2022.
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On the men’s side, 18-year-old Dipanshu Sharma stole the show with a 75.04m throw on his final attempt, improving his personal best by 3.83m to claim his first senior-level podium finish. Rishabh Nehra (72.29m) and Manjinder Singh (71.14m) finished second and third, respectively.
Sharma, who won gold at the 2024 Asian U20 Athletics Championships, eclipsed his previous best of 71.21m from the U-20 India Open Throws Competition earlier this year. The national record in men’s javelin remains with two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, who threw 89.94m at the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League.
The Sangrur meet also hosted a range of other track and field events, marking the start of the Indian Open Athletics series, which will span multiple locations across the country. Nine more meets are scheduled this season, with the next set for Nadia, West Bengal, on Saturday.
