U-20 World Athletics Championships: 17-year-old Shaili wins silver in long jump; India finish with three medals

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 22

Shaili Singh has done what no Indian jumper could accomplish in the last 18 years. On Sunday, the 17-year-old from Jhansi won silver in women’s long jump in the U-20 World Athletics Championships with her best leap of 6.59 metres. Shaili’s mentor Anju Bobby George had won a bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 Senior World Championships.

Both the medals have been realised under the watchful eyes of coach Robert Bobby George. “I want to thank our federation for keeping the faith in me and think we have justified it with a jumps medal after 18 years,” Robert told the media minutes after the medal ceremony.

Shaili Singh celebrates winning silver. AFI

Shaili was pipped to the gold medal by Sweden’s Maja Askag by one centimetre only. Shaili was leading the field after registering a leap of 6.59m in her third attempt. She had registered 6.34m in her first two attempts. However, Askag’s best jump of 6.60m came in her fifth attempt, pushing Shaili to the second spot. Ukraine’s Mariia Horielva won the bronze medal.

Robert had primed Shaili to clear 6.60m in the final. “She fell short by a mere 1 centimetre. She always clears targets set by me. I set the bar at 6.40m in the qualification rounds which she met easily,” the coach said.

“But I know she will be our best jumper for at least 10 years and within two-three years she will clear Anju’s mark of 6.83m. She may be a teenager but she has the will of an adult. She can also cross the 7m mark in the coming years,” he said.

‘Will win gold next time’

Shaili dedicated her first big medal to Robert. “I would dedicate this medal to sir (Robert),” said Shaili.

Shaili was raised by a single mother, Vinita Singh, who worked as a tailor to raise her children.

“My mother raised me and my siblings but she handed me over to sir and it is down to his hard work and dedication that we won a medal today. Waise gold ki umeed thi per koi nahi agli baar le ayenge (I wished to win the gold medal but no worries I will win next time,” she said.

Triple treat for India

India ended their campaign with a medal haul of 2 silver and 1 bronze. Apart from Shaili’s silver, the mixed 4x400m relay quartet and 10,000m race walker Amit Khatri won a bronze and a silver, respectively, earlier in this championships. The country had won one gold each in the earlier two editions — by Olympics champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra (2016) and quarter-miler Hima Das (2018).

Narrow misses

In men’s triple jump, Donald Makimairaj missed the bronze medal by three centimetres — he produced his personal best of 15.82m but had to be content with a fourth-place finish. Gabriel Wallmark of Sweden won the gold with a best jump of 16.43m while Jaydon Hibbert (16.05m) of Jamaica and Simon Gore (15.85m) of France took the silver and bronze, respectively. The Indian women’s 4x400m relay team of Payal Vohra, Summy, Rajitha Kunja and Priya Mohan also finished fourth with a season’s best timing of 3 minutes, 40.45 seconds.