18 Year Old National Record Breaker Anushka Wants Javelin Like Status For Hammer Throw

Bhubaneswar: A national record holder at just 18, Uttar Pradesh athlete Anushka Yadav has a simple wish -- to make hammer throw match the popularity of javelin which has a massive fan following in the country due to the exploits of two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra.Anushka smashed the women's hammer throw national record with an effort of 67. 02m on an eventful opening day of the National Inter-State Championships here on Wednesday. She bettered the nine-year-old previous national record of 65. 25m set in 2017 by Sarita Singh.Read more: Soccer: World Cup turnout defies concerns, as Americans flock for the spectacle Not many people know hammer throw in India, but everybody knows javelin throw. I want people to know hammer throw just like javelin throw, Anushka, who hails from a farming family at Baleni village in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh, said after her feat. I am looking for a gold in the upcoming Asian Games and hoping to cross the 70m mark in the near future, she said when asked about her target this year.Anushka made an improvement of more than four metres from her pervious personal best of 62. 89m, which she came up with on way to winning gold in the National Games last year.She has a chance of winning a medal at the Asian Games in Japan in September-October. She breached the Asian Games qualifying mark of 61. 72m set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).At the 2022 Asian Games in China, the bronze winner had a mark of 64. 14m, while the silver and gold medallist had produced 69. 44m and 71. 53m respectively.Anushka is, however, placed 11th in the list of Asian hammer throwers this season, with Jie Zhao of China leading with 78. 22m.Hammer throw has largely been an unknown event as India has not won too many medals in the international arena.At the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, Somanth Chopra and Kishen Singh won a silver and bronze respectively. Praveen Kumar Sobti clinched a hammer thrower bronze at the 1966 Asian Games and a silver at the Commonwealth Games in the same year. Nirmal Singh Grewal bagged a silver in 1974 Asian Games.Manju Bala is the lone Indian medallist among women in the Asian Games. She won a bronze in the 2014 edition.Anushka is currently the youngest national record holder in athletics. But, athletes like legendary sprinter PT Usha have achieved national records at a younger age. Usha was 16 when she first set the national records in 100m and 200m. Knee ligament tear could have derailed Anushka's season Anushka suffered a knee ligament tear while operating a tractor at her family farm in her village. I was working at our village farm with my father and brother. My father asked me to help him till the field with the tractor and I got injured. The incident happened in March, she said. Luckily, my recovery did not take too long. But I started my season a little late because of the injury, said the youngster who trains under her father Sushil Yadav.Anushka was initially interested in 100m but her father told her to shift to hammer throw when she was studying at a local school. Sushil, also a former hammer thrower, was also her formative coach. My father was a hammer thrower himself...he married young and quit the sport. He made me play hammer. I have three personal coaches -- my father, Chirag Yadav and Gagan Yadav. I used to do 100m. But after 6-7 months, my father asked me to quit running and pursue hammer, said Anushka who has two older sisters and two younger brothers.She said her father gave her a hammer for the first time when she was 12 years old.Read more: Purely a sporting matter : FIFA President Infantino defends WC2026 hydration breaksSome other top hammer throwers like Tanya Chaudhary also train with her, and Anushka said she got inspired by the senior athletes.Tanya finished second on Tuesday with a throw of 61. 70m. Tanya Chaudhary is there. She is senior to me. Everyone in our group is good. We get inspiration from our seniors. There are boys too, juniors and seniors.