Annu Rani on Sunday became the first Indian female javelin thrower to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. The 29-year-old sent the spear to a distance of 60m to win a bronze medal for the country.

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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.

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Rani, who has a personal best of 63.82m, failed to cross the 60m mark in her other five throws. The readings of her throws were as follows:

56.18m

61.12m

59.27m

58.14m

59.98m

58.70m

She had qualified for the finals at eighth position with a throw od 59.60m. 

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Watch her bronze-winning 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.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others congratulated Rani on creating history. 

“Annu Rani is remarkable athlete. She displayed great resilience and showed topmost skills. I am glad that she has won a Bronze medal in Javelin. Congratulations to her. I am certain she will continue to excel in the coming years. #Cheer4India @Annu_Javelin,” Modi said. 

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“Congratulations to Annu Rani for winning bronze in javelin throw at #CommonwealthGames. You have opened new horizons by becoming first Indian woman to qualify for this game in World Championships. Your medal is an inspiration for all Indians, especially women,” Indian President Droupadi Murmu tweeted. 

“An amazing throw ! What an explosive effort to rise in the charts to claim CWG22 Women’s Javelin Throw Bronze, Annu Rani has earned a name for herself. She has bounced back from an injury in the Olympic Games and endeared herself as a gutsy competitor !” Anurag Thakur said on Twitter. 

Rani said that she is proud to win a medal for the country. 

“Earlier, no one knew India well. People know us now, know our country’s name. I am proud I’ve been able to do something for country. Family members asked me not to come empty-handed, I am sure they’d be happy,” the javelin thrower said.