Insight Bureau: Shaili Singh, a brilliant long jumper, finished second in the U-20 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi on Sunday (August 22), missing out on making history by a fraction of a centimetre. The 17-year-old Indian’s personal record of 6.59m was not enough to win the gold medal, as she was beaten to the finish line by Maja Askag of Sweden, the defending European junior champion, who jumped 6.60m on the last day of the championships.
Shaili was ahead at the end of the third round, but the 18-year-old Swede surpassed her in the fourth round by a scant 1 centimetre, which proved pivotal in the end. Ukraine’s Mariia Horielova won bronze with a best jump of 6.50m.
Former Union Sports Minister tweeted congratulating the new athlete, “Congratulations to young Shaili Singh on winning historic silver medal for India in Long Jump at the U20 World Athletics Championship. Shaili jumped 6.59m, just one centimeter short of European Champion Maja Askag of Sweden who won the Gold with a leap of 6.60m!”
Shaili, who is originally from Jhansi, trains in Bengaluru with Anju Bobby George and her husband Robert Bobby George, a high-performance coach with the Sports Authority of India (SAI). She had been recruited at the age of 14 and had been training there ever since.
“She can improve on the national record. Our main target for Shaili is to help her finish on the podium at the Olympic Games, which is the most valuable thing. If our trainee can win a medal, I will consider it as my own,” according to Anju.
Neeraj Chopra, a former U20 champion and gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, commended Shaili’s efforts as well. He tweeted, “Many congratulations, Shaili! You came so close to Gold today, and I’m sure you have a long way to go. Congratulations to @anjubobbygeorg1 ma’am for your mentorship and guidance to Shaili.”
Shaili explained how she got started in sports when asked how she got started “I was doing some running here when I was at school. Then I went to a hostel in Lucknow and my mother asked me if I am interested in athletics. I said yes and I joined hostel (in Lucknow) in September 2017 and then camp in 2018.”
Her instructor, Robert Bobby George, stated she experienced a technical issue during ‘landing,’ but that she would have won gold otherwise.
