Historic Medal Wins for India at World Athletics U20 Championships 2026

India Shines at World Athletics U20 Championships

Eugene, Oregon [US], August 9: Basant Kumar Meghwal and Shahnavaz Khan made headlines at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026 by securing silver and bronze medals in the men's high jump and long jump events, respectively. This achievement has brought India's total medal count at the championships to three.

Basant Kumar Meghwal etched his name in history as the first Indian to earn a medal in high jump at the World Athletics U20 Championships, clearing a personal best of 2.21m to clinch silver on Saturday, according to reports from Olympics.com.

The 19-year-old athlete had previously matched this height at the Junior Federation Cup in Bengaluru back in April and later won gold at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong in May with a jump of 2.20m.

In Eugene, Basant kicked off his competition with a successful first attempt at 2.06m and required two tries to clear 2.12m. He then cleared 2.17m on his first attempt and matched his personal best of 2.21m with his second jump. Although he couldn't clear 2.24m in three attempts, he secured second place based on countback after three athletes cleared 2.21m.

Reflecting on his performance, Basant stated, “I felt a bit nervous during my last attempt at 2.24m, but I’m optimistic about performing better in future senior competitions,” as reported by Olympics.com.

Gold was awarded to Algeria's Younes Ayachi, who cleared 2.21m on his first attempt, while Great Britain's Otis Poole took home bronze after achieving the same height on his third attempt.

Shahnavaz Khan also made history by becoming the first Indian man to win a medal in long jump at the World Athletics U20 Championships, achieving a best jump of 7.84m for bronze. Previously, Shaili Singh had won silver in the women's long jump at the 2021 championships.

The Indian U20 Asian champion began with a jump of 7.67m, improved to 7.72m, and then secured his medal-winning leap of 7.84m on his third attempt. He followed this with jumps of 7.52m, 7.83m, and 5.37m.

Shahnavaz entered the competition with a personal best of 8.30m, achieved at the Indian Championships in June.

Gold in the long jump went to Italy's Daniele Leonardo Inzoli with a jump of 7.97m, while Australia's Mason McGroder earned silver with a personal best of 7.96m.

With these two medals, India's tally in Eugene reached three, following Ashish Yadav's silver in javelin throw on Friday.

This three-medal achievement matches India's best-ever performance at the World Athletics U20 Championships, equaling the medal count from the 2021 and 2022 editions, which also featured two silver medals and one bronze.

Historically, India has secured two gold medals at these championships: Neeraj Chopra in javelin throw in 2016 and Hima Das in the women's 400m in 2018, with both instances being India's only podium finishes.

The remarkable performances of Meghwal and Shahnavaz have further enriched India's legacy at the global junior championships.