Shilpa Rani ended Annu Rani’s eight-year-long winning streak in domestic events at the fifth leg of the Indian Athletics Series 2026 in Sangrur, Punjab, on Saturday. The 33-year-old Indian javelin thrower finished third at the War Heroes Stadium with a best throw of 55.78m in her first competitive outing of the season.
On Saturday, Shilpa Rani won the women’s javelin throw title in Sangrur with an effort of 57.65m, while Rashmi K secured second place with 56.15m. Shilpa Rani has a personal best of 59.01m set in 2022.
Asian Games women’s javelin throw champion Annu Rani last failed to win a domestic meet back in 2018. She had finished second behind Sharmila Kumari at the Indian Open Championships in Bhubaneswar then.
Annu was competing for first time since September last year
Annu Rani, the national record holder with 63.82m, was competing for the first time since finishing 15th at the World Athletics Championships in Japan in September last year.
In the men’s javelin throw, Rohit Yadav topped the field with a best effort of 78.82m. Vipul Yadav (76.31m) and Arshdeep Singh (76.29m) rounded off the top three.
Rohit Yadav’s personal best stands at 83.65m, achieved in Chennai in 2025. Neeraj Chopra holds the men’s javelin throw national record of 90.23m, set in Doha last year.
Asian Games champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor also impressed, winning the men’s shotput title with a best throw of 19.97m. Sanyam finished second with 19.09m, while Karanveer Singh took third with 18.79m.
The Sangrur meet was the fifth of the 16 Indian Athletics Series introduced by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) in the 2026 season. The one-day event for the Indian athletes featured a full slate of track and field finals.
The Indian Athletics Series will continue with the sixth leg in Chennai on Sunday.
Results: Men’s 10,000m: 1. Pankaj Kumar (30:04.77); 2. Satish Kumar Verma (30:06.88); 3. Rajesh Manmya (30:12.13). 800m: 1. Vinod Kumar Banoth (1:49.62); 2. Amit Kumar (1:50.68); 3. Shakeel (1:50.81). Triple jump: 1. Jagseer Singh (15.11m); 2. Akarshit Partap Singh (14.99m); 3. Ajay (14.90m). 200m: 1. Jishnu Prasad P K (21.11s); 2. Adesh Garsa (21.17s); 3. Sam Vasanth S (21.56s). Hammer throw: 1. Damneet Singh (68.37m); 2. Praveen Kumar (64.98m); 3. Ajay Kumar (62.54m). 1500m: 1. Vinod Singh (3:48.46); 2. Rahul Yadav (3:51.69); 3. Sumit Kumar (3:52.36). Pole vault: 1. Aayush Tanwar (4.50m); 2. Anshu Patel (4.50m); 3. Dinesh Dalal (4.30m). Shot put: 1. Tajinderpal Toor (19.97m); 2. Sanyam (19.09m); 3. Karanveer Singh (18.79m). Long jump: 1. Amitra Ghosh (7.85m); 2. Avinash Kumar (7.80m); 3. Rajat (7.55m). High jump: 1. Gurjeet Singg (2.12m); 2. Rohit (2.05m); 3. Sunil Kumar (2.00m). 400m: 1. Prakhar Sharma (46.90s); 2. Yashwant Singh (46.92s); 3. Tarandeep Singh (47.04s). 3000m steeplechase: 1. Prince Raj Mishra (9:04.26); 2. Gurlal Singh (9:04.43); 3. Hemant (9:09.54). 5000m: 1. Sharashank Mahobiya (14:54.36); 2. Rajesh Manmya (15:02.74); 3. Sandeep Pal (15:02.84). Javelin throw: 1. Rohit Yadav (78.82m); 2. Vipul Yadav (76.31m); 3. Arshdeep Singh (76.29m).
Women’s 10,000m: 1. Sonam (35:54.70); 2. Shreya (36:03.59); 3. KM Mamta (36:08.54). Pole vault: 1. Nidhi (3.20m); 2. Shabnam (3.00m); 3. Rajni (3.00m). Triple jump: 1. Niharika Vashisht (13.13m); 2. Arshdeep Kaur (12.53m); 3. Martina Ilisiyus Lakra (12.29m). Hammer throw: 1. Kulvinder Kaur (57.42m); 2. Nithya B (55.39m); 3. Haqikat Grewal (53.89m). High jump: 1. Reet Rathor (1.80m); 2. Khyati Mathur (1.78m); 3. Manshi (1.70m). 200m: 1. Fatema Begam (23.97s); 2. Kusum Thakur (24.08s); 3. Rishita Kaur (24.36s). Shot put: 1. Manpreet Kaur (17.33m); 2. Vidhi (16.35m); 3. Yogita (16.18m). 1500m: 1. Preeti Yadav (4:37.53); 2. Shivani Hudda (4:42.61); 3. Sangam (5:21.50). 100m: 1. Fatema Begam (11.98s); 2. Preet Kaur (12.30s); 3. Dona Dhaked (12.31s). Long jump: 1. Nidhi (5.85m); 2. Soniya (5.74m); 3. Anjali (5.58m). Javelin throw: 1. Shilpa Rani (57.65m); 2. Rashmi K (56.15m); 3. Annu Rani (55.78m). 400m: 1. Kiran Pahal (54.07s); 2. Rama Tanwar (55.71s); 3. Kiranpal Kaur (55.98s). 3000m steeplechase: 1. Rebi Pal (11:10.08); 2. Khushbu Gupta (11:10.76); 3. Bhagyashree Lahanu (11:20.33). 5000m: 1. Anita (17:49.56); 2. Chatru (17:52.40); 3. Shraddha Rajanikant (18:02.42).
