Annu Rani nowhere near her best javelin mark in Glasgow

Glasgow: India`s Annu Rani failed to reproduce her best in the javelin event for women at the Commonwealth Games and finished eighth in a field of 12, measuring a distance of 56.37 metres here at Hampden Park Wednesday night.

The gold went to Kim Mickle of Australia with 65.96 metres, leaving silver medallist South African Sunette Viljoen, who reached 63.19, a fair distance behind. Another Australian Kelsey-Lee Roberts claimed bronze, recording 62.95. The fourth-placed Kathryn Mitchell was an Australian and her best effort was 62.59. Rani began with a 55.23-metre effort and her second throw proved to be her best for the evening 56.37. Her next was a disastrous 50.35 and the 21-year-old Meerut girl could not recover from the setback, and her fourth was 52.71, fifth was a no throw and her last effort was 54.52. Annu, who had started her athletic career with discus, could not replicate her record-breaking performance of 58.83 metres at the national and inter-state meet in Lucknow in June. Then she had bettered the record of 58.64 set by Gurmeet Kaur 14 years ago, to qualify for the Glasgow Games. Interestingly, the qualification mark for Glasgow was lowered from 60m to 58.46. Annu, whose previous best was 54.35m at the 2013 Open National championship in Ranchi, had an impressive series of throws - 57.39, 55.31, 58.83, 57.42, 57.88 and 58.83 - to qualify with her last effort. Four of her Lucknow throws were also better than her mark here Wednesday.