Shaili Singh Wins Silver Medal in Long Jump at U20 World Athletics Championships

Long jumper Shaili Singh won the silver medal at the U20 World Athletics Championships on Sunday with a best jump of 6.59m. European Champion Maja Askag of Sweden won by just a centimetre as she took home the gold medal with a best leap of 6.60m. This is India’s third medal at the Championships after Amit Khatri won silver in 10000m race walk and the Indian team bagged bronze in mixed 4x400m relay.

Earlier in the day, Donald Makimairaj came up with her personal best of 15.82m in the triple jump event but finished a close fourth.

On Saturday, Priya Mohan had also achieved her personal best of 52.77 seconds in 400m final but ended up on the fourth position.

The 17-year-old Shaili, coached by former jumper Bobby George and his wife Anju Bobby George, had to be satisfied with the silver medal despite a brilliant performance in Nairobi during which she improved on her personal best twice, once to qualify for the final (6.48) and then in the final — 6.59 meters.

Shaili had taken the lead with a leap of 6.59m on her third jump but Sweden’s Maja Askag cleared 6.60 on her fourth jump and took the gold medal as Shaili fouled her next two attempts and could manage only 6.37 metres in the sixth and final jump. Maja had also won the women’s triple jump gold earlier in the championships.

Shaili had started off with an identical 6.34 in her first two jumps but came up with the big leap in the next attempt to jump into the lead.