Asian Games Women's Long Jump: Kerala girl Ancy Sojan bags silver, Shaili Singh bows out with fifth-place finish

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Asian Games 2023: Unheralded Ancy Sojan Edapalli sprang up a wonderful surprise by making a grand entry on the big stage with a long jump silver in the ongoing Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou on an eventful day on Monday (October 2).

Another medal hopeful in the same event, Shaili Singh, finished fifth on a day after failing to make an impression in the women's long jump final. Vietnam's Nga Yan Yue won the bronze with a best effort of 6.50 metres.

Ancy Sajon - the Asian Games surprise factor

Ancy breached her personal best twice and took a jump of 6.63 metres to bag the silver behind Shiqi Xiong of China, who clinched the yellow metal with her jump of 6.73 metres. In the third attempt, Ancy registered her personal best of 6.56 metres, which she bettered in her fifth attempt.

Forgettable outing for Shaili Singh

With a forgettable effort of 6.48 metres medal favourites, Shaili, finished fifth and looked crestfallen. The U-20 World Championships silver medallist, who also bagged a medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in August with an effort of 6.54m, entered the competition amid a lot of promise.

The young athlete from Uttar Pradesh who is mentored by legendary Anju Bobby George - India's best long jumper ever - missed the podium finish by a mere two-centimetre margin.

Shaili (19) looked on the verge of an emotional meltdown before her last two attempts and gave the impression that her confidence had already been dented. With a jump of 6.23m in her final attempt, Shaili walked out disappointed in her debut Asaid.

Asian Games final: What worked for Ancy and what went wrong with Shaili?

The teenage sensation - who shot to fame after bagging the U20 silver in 2021 in Nairobi - Shaili gave her all but the day belonged to Ancy - who hails from Kerala - who brought her personal best at the big stage. Ancy celebrated her silver medal by wrapping the tri-colour around.

One of the reasons behind Shaili's dismal outing in the Asian Games could be attributed to the fact that she peaked slightly early in the season. Her personal best on the season came in Bangalore early this year when she touched 6.76m.

While Ancy, who finished fourth in the Asian Athletics in Bangkok, kept improving her performance slowly and steadily. Her personal best before the Asian Games final was 6.55m but the Thrissur-born girl had been making constant improvements.

Meanwhile, India's Parul Chaudhary and Priti secured silver and bronze medals respectively in the women's 3000m steeplechase. In the other memorable track-and-field performance for India, the 4x400m mixed relay team got a fortuitous upgrade to the silver from bronze due to 'lane infringement' from Sri Lankan athletes.