Annu Rani, Nirmala seal World Championship berth on final day

Javelin thrower Annu Rani and quartermiler Nirmala Sheoran broke through the qualification barrier to gain entry to the World Championships in London on the final day of the Federation Cup athletics championships here on Sunday.

Annu smashed her own national record of 60.01, which she had set in Lucknow last year, with a distance of 61.86 metres in her fist attempt. Her effort left behind Haryana's Poonam Rani Singh (55.79) and UP's Suman Devi (55.03) by a



healthy margin. The entry standard for the Worlds in women's javelin was set at 61.40M. 

The keenly-anticipated women's 400M unfolded on predictable lines. Nirmala sprinted her way to a new meet record and World Championships berth, timing 51.28 seconds, leaving Karnataka's seasoned M R Poovamma (52.70) behind. West Bengal's Debashree Mazumdar finished third. Jisna Mathew, who had beaten Poovamma this season, finished fifth in 53.65s.