“I had to leave the sport when I was 18 due to family responsibilities and my marriage. Since then, I wanted to make one of my kids a hammer thrower,” an ecstatic Sushil told The Indian Express. “Initially, my son (who is 16 years old) started and Anushka started coming along. Then, I realised that her body and movements were conducive for the event.”

Anushka with her father Sushil Yadav. (Express photo)

Her father being a former athlete definitely helped, and Anushka picked up the discipline like a duck to water.

“My first choice was running but when Papa said that I have to do the hammer throw, I did so. There are many hammer throwers at the ground I train and that helped. Apart from my father, Chirag Yadav and Gagan Yadav also trained me. So, I have three coaches,” said Anushka.

Anushka trains at the Sri Krishna Inter College Ground near her village and the venue is famous for producing several hammer throwers. Rachna, the former meet record holder, Tanya Chaudhary, who finished second behind Anushka, and many other throwers – both men and women- train at the same ground.

“It is like a hub for throwers. We have the likes of Tanya and Rachna right now and in the past also, there have been many international throwers from our village and those nearby. It has helped Anushka massively. In the morning, when I am at the farm or field, there are seniors like Gagan and Chirag who train Anushka. When I come back in the evening, I train her,” said Sushil.

An injury due to tractor

Anushka, who is also the current U20 national champion and holds the U20 national record, has been consistently crossing the 60m mark in senior competitions. She recorded her personal best last year at the National Games with a mark of 62.89m.

“She has been throwing very well in practice and has crossed the 70m mark also. But an injury earlier this year hampered her progress,” said Sushil.

In March this year, Anushka suffered a big setback.

“I was injured while working on the farm. My father asked me to connect the tiller with the tractor and that’s when my brother mistakenly drove it on my foot injuring the right knee,” Anushka explained.

For two months after the injury, she didn’t throw a hammer but kept in touch with the sport. “She did the usual drills or small practice movements,” said Sushil.

She started her season at the Junior National Championships in April but couldn’t perform up to the mark, with a best throw of 58.02m.

“As her knee will improve, she will continue getting better. We had a 70m mark in our mind today but she got the national record which is a big achievement for all of us,” said Sushil.

With Asian Games qualification sealed, Anushka now wants people to give her event a stature comparable to javelin throw. “I want everyone to know about hammer throw like they know about javelin. I have a 70m mark in mind for the Asian Games.”